Rape charge: Police to seek custody of MLA

The Kerala police will move a court here tomorrow seeking the custody of Congress MLA M Vincent, arrested on rape and abetment to suicide charges.
"We will seek the custody of the MLA..." a senior police officer investigating the case told PTI.
The hearing of the bail plea of the MLA, who represents Kovalam constituency in the state assembly, too is likely to come up tomorrow in the court of Neyyattinkara first class judicial magistrate.
Vincent was arrested on July 22 on charges of rape and abetment to suicide based on the complaint of a woman under IPC sections 376 (punishment for rape) and 306 (abetment for rape) respectively and was remanded to 14-day judicial custody by a court.

The Congress had suspended him from the party secretary post yesterday, though it defended him saying "the case and his arrest are politically motivated."
Former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, meanwhile, visited the family members of Vincent at his house in Balaramapuram near here today.

"Vincent did not get justice from police ... Even ordinary citizens get some consideration from investigators in such cases ... It is a planned case," Chandy told reporters.
MLA's wife Subha had alleged yesterday that some local CPI(M) leaders were behind the conspiracy that led to Vincent's arrest.
It was a politically motivated case and the family would fight it legally, she said.

Vincent was arrested after the incident came to light on July 19 as the 51-year-old woman attempted to commit suicide by consuming an overdose of sleeping pills and her husband filed a police complaint against the MLA.
The police had questioned Vincent for over three hours at the MLA's hostel on July 22 after which he was arrested.