73 people have been arrested in the case so far.
Guwahati:
In a major embarrassment to the BJP, police in Meghalaya are searching for the vice president of their state unit and former militia leader Bernard N Marak alias Rimpu after a case of “immoral trafficking” was posted. signed against him in Tura in the West Garo Hill district. However, the BJP leader said he did not run away and always cooperated with the police investigation. He also accused Minister Conrad Sangma of targeting him by “asking the police department to link yesterday’s raid to some POCSO incidents in February”. Mr. Sangma is losing ground politically and is trying to arrest him for political reasons, he alleges, adding that he is not even a defendant in the old POCSO case.
The BJP’s Meghalaya unit is tight-lipped and has yet to issue any official statement.
The case was filed following raids at a resort owned by Bernard N Marak on Friday night and today, where six children were found “locked inside unsanitary rooms that resembled unsanitary rooms.” like a shabby cabin”. Meghalaya police have stated that a ‘broth’ operates from the resort and the BJP leader is evading arrest. 73 people have been arrested in the case so far, all of which have been brought before the court.
“All the kids were in shock and couldn’t tell exactly. From the materials recovered at Rimpu Bagan as well as the design of the building, etc., it looks like this place is being used by Bernard N Marak alias Rimpu and his accomplices as a “brothhouse” for the purpose of brokering prostitution,” police said.
Mr Marak has denied any wrongdoing at his resort and said the raid was conducted without an order under the direction of Minister Conrad Sangma “in which all the state apparatus was destroyed”. CM abuse”.
“None of those arrested were involved in any indecent activity. The police violated and harassed the underage students I was sponsoring for their studies and accused them of participating. into sexual activities,” he said.
“Mature individuals cannot be called prostitutes to party and no inn can be considered a brothel. The minister has made things very private by allowing the police to frame human trafficking/prostitution for its constituents,” he added.
Bernard N Marak is an elected member of the Garo Hill Autonomous Region Council and is causing a stir by attacking the governing Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (MDA) government in the state, where his party, the BJP, is a partner.
He was the self-proclaimed chairman of the now disbanded militia organization A.chik National Volunteer Council (B).
Police said a woman had filed a disappearance complaint for her young daughter, who was unable to lie down for a week. She is traced to Tura by the girl’s relatives.
“It was later ascertained that the minor was sexually assaulted several times in a week,” the police said, adding that a case was later registered under Taoism. POCSO law.
The girl testified in court that she and her friend were brought to Rimpu Bagan by the main defendant and one of his friends. They rented a room and sexually assaulted her there several times, she added.
“With the exception of the immediate case, respectable residents of the Tura town area have received numerous complaints that many immoral activities are taking place in Rimpu Bagan owned by a Bernard N Marak,” said one. police statement said.
Upon reaching Rimpu Bagan, the search team noticed a three-story building (2 stories in the basement and one above ground) with about 30 small rooms, police said.
Meghalaya police statement via NDTV on Scribd
This building is suspected of being the place where the girl was sexually assaulted.
“The team also noticed many young men and women drinking openly on the premises, inside the room as well as inside the car. Some people sat inside the car without clothes or with very little clothes on. Accordingly, The search team arrested all these boys and girls numbered around 68 for questioning Some tried to run away when it got dark.The search team also captured the manager, the custodian and three staff members. After that, the whole premise was searched in the presence of independent witnesses and 36 Vehicles, 47 cell phones, 168268 ml of alcohol, a large amount of birth control pills (condoms) ) and other incriminating documents,” West Garo Hills Police Superintendent Vivekanand Singh said in a press release.
