The Congress on Saturday expelled a councillor of the Palakkad municipality from the party following a sexual assault complaint against him.

Palakkad District Congress Committee (DCC) president A. Thankappan said that Prashob C. Valsan, a councillor from the 24th division, was removed from the party after reports of the incident surfaced.

“We came to know about the incident through media reports. Soon after, we expelled him from the party,” Mr. Thankappan told reporters.

On his continuation as a councillor, Mr. Thankappan said the party has no authority to act on that front.

“He may resign from the councillor post on moral grounds, but that is his decision. The party is also conducting an internal inquiry. We did not receive any formal complaint, but still decided to remove him,” he said.

The DCC president also asserted that the incident would not affect the party’s prospects in the upcoming elections, stating that Prashob was not a prominent leader.

The police registered a case on Saturday after recording the woman’s statement.

The case was registered at Palakkad South Police Station under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

The police said Valsan is currently absconding, and efforts are under way to trace him.

The woman, who belongs to a Scheduled Tribe community, has alleged that the councillor sexually assaulted her multiple times on the promise of arranging a stable job and later pressured her to terminate the pregnancy.

She has lodged complaints with the police and the Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.

The BJP and the ruling LDF have criticised the Congress over the issue, alleging that Prashob is a close aide of sitting MLA Rahul Mamkootathil, who they claim has faced sexual assault cases and was arrested earlier.

Congress candidate and actor Ramesh Pisharody said the woman who accused a former party councillor of sexual assault should get justice.

Mr. Pisharody added that what happened to the woman was wrong and regrettable, and that the accused should be punished.