SHILLONG: The Meghalaya police has claimed that the farmhouse of state BJP vice president Bernard Marak at Tura in West Garo Hills district was used as a brothel.
The Meghalaya police made this claim following a raid on Friday night (July 22) at Rimpu Bagan farmhouse of Meghalaya BJP vice president Bernard Marak.
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The Meghalaya police stated that the raid led to discovery of the premises being allegedly used for illicit activities, including sexual crimes.
The raid, which also led to seizure of many contraceptives from rooms used by ‘customers’.
The raid was made in connection with the disappearance of a minor girl in February this year.
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“We received a complaint on February 28 from a person saying that his minor daughter, who was missing for a week, had been traced on that day by relatives along with a suspect and handed over to women police in Tura. Later, it was ascertained that the minor was sexually assaulted multiple times over one week. During recording of statement, she told the court that she along with a friend were taken to Rimpu Bagan where the man hired a room in which she was sexually assaulted multiple times,” West Garo Hills SP VS Rathore, who led the raid on the Meghalaya BJP vice president’s farmhouse on Friday night, said.
A total of 68 people, including 24 girls, have been taken into custody by the Meghalaya police following the raid.
The police also came across five children, four boys and a girl, who were kept under lock and key in unhygienic conditions.
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The police have also seized at least 500 packets of contraceptives (condoms) from the farmhouse.
Notably, the Bernard Marak was the former chairman of a disbanded militant group and had more than 25 criminal cases against him since the early 2000s.
“This person was the self-styled chairman of militant outfit, Achik National Volunteer Council (ANVC) (B), but even after disbandment of the outfit, he has been indulging in criminal activities like extortion from traders of Tura market, criminal intimidation in case of refusal to pay extortion money, arms smuggling, prostitution, illegal sale of liquor, illegal sale of lottery tickets, teer counters, encroachment on others’ property, illegal collection of money for recommending issue of TNT license, etc.,” the Meghalaya police said.