Palakkad (Kerala): The Congress party on Saturday summarily expelled a Palakkad Municipality councillor after he was accused of sexual assault by a Dalit woman.

The Palakkad District Congress Committee (DCC) took disciplinary action against Prashobh C Valsan, the representative for the 24th division, immediately after the allegations came to light.

DCC president A Thankappan confirmed the move, stating, "We came to know about the incident through media reports. Soon after, we expelled him from the party."

The complainant, a woman from a Scheduled Tribe community, alleged that Valsan sexually assaulted her multiple times under the pretext of securing her stable employment. She further claimed that he pressured her to terminate a pregnancy resulting from the abuse. Formal complaints have been submitted to both the police and the Chief Minister’s office.

While the party has stripped him of his membership, his position as an elected official remains unchanged for now. "He may resign from the councillor post on moral grounds, but that is his decision," Thankappan noted, adding, "The party is also conducting an internal inquiry. We did not receive any formal complaint, but still decided to remove him."

The DCC president dismissed concerns regarding the political fallout for the upcoming elections, asserting that Prashobh was not a high-profile leader.

However, the ruling LDF and the BJP have seized the opportunity to attack the Congress, alleging that the accused is a close associate of MLA Rahul Mamkootathil. Police are currently in the process of recording the survivor's statement before officially registering the case.
PTI