Harassment case: Rahul Easwar denied bail, remanded for 14 days; vows hunger strike in jail

Thiruvananthapuram: The Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate (ACJM) Court here on Monday has denied bail to activist Rahul Easwar in connection with a cyber-harassment complaint filed by a woman who had earlier lodged a sexual assault case against Congress MLA Rahul Mamkootathil. Easwar, accused of publicly humiliating the survivor (complainant woman) on social media, has been remanded for 14 days. While speaking to media persons after the court pronouncement, Easwar said he would go on a hunger strike in jail.

The activist has maintained that he has been implicated in a “false case”.

Earlier, he was arrested in connection with the case registered. The arrest followed an incident in which Easwar attempted to conceal electronic evidence at his residence. When police first arrived at his family home in Powdikonam to take him into custody, he claimed that his laptop was “in the office”. However, a video recorded by Easwar at the time surfaced, showing him hiding the laptop in his room while acknowledging it on camera.

In the video, Easwar is heard saying: "The police have asked for the laptop. Let me hide it now. If I don’t return, I’ll upload this video. They’re only trying to frighten me. I’m not sure whether they’ll arrest me. Let’s see." The clip also shows him questioning where he was being taken and whether he could attend a scheduled television discussion at 7 pm.

After several hours of questioning, police recovered the concealed laptop from Easwar’s residence.