SHILLONG: Meghalaya BJP vice president Bernard Marak has slammed chief minister Conrad Sangma in regards to the police raid at his farmhouse.
The Meghalaya police has claimed that the farmhouse of state BJP vice president Bernard Marak’s farmhouse at Tura in West Garo Hills district was used as a brothel.
Terming the allegations as fabricated, Meghalaya BJP vice president Bernard Marak said: “Chief minister Conrad Sangma has made things very personal by asking the police department to link yesterday’s raid with some POCSO case in February.”
“Why should that case be linked to yesterday’s raid now? A pre meditated raid was conducted in my private farm house and later at my mom’s house and all allegations are targeted to arrest me with fabricated allegations,” Meghalaya BJP vice president Bernard Marak said.
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“The raid was conducted without warrant at the instruction of chief minister Conrad Sangma wherein all the state machineries have been abused by CM. It was shocking to see a Deputy Commissioner and SP present during the raid which was conducted without warrant,” he added.
Marak further stated: “In normal circumstances, it’s the excise department which conducts such raid but when in my case, it was a power head mode. All protocols are violated at will. It’s my private property and it stands outside municipal area. It’s true there is no license as I am tribal but allegation of running a brothel is false. None of those detained were involved in any indecent activities.”
He added: “The police trespassed and harassed the minor students whom I was sponsoring to study and alleged them to be involved in sexual activities which is so bad.”
“It’s very immature on the side of the chief minister to target me and my family members just because he is losing ground politically,” the Meghalaya BJP state vice president said.
He further said that the “people are losing faith in NPP led government in the state and it sure that NPP will lose most of the seats in the state”.
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“The night before the raid, some NPP youths were engaging in negative postings and the night after the raid. Many NPP supporters were posting the matters first hand as only media that accompanied the raid was NPP sponsored Hub news. The desperate attempt to malign my image and harass my family members and supporters is eminent in the way they took the law in their hands. CM also drinks and parties, and most of his supporters owns the wine stores in the state and runs bars but why isn’t he within the same purview of the law? Is he above it?,” Marak said.
“If he can have his private parties in his residence with alcohol being served why can’t another citizen within the same boundary of law be allowed to do so? This is a tribal state and eating and drinking is part of culture,” Bernard Marak said.
“This vengeful act shows an ulterior motive behind the CM’s mind. Targeting my personal image with a greater intent aimed at the BJP, to create a negative impact on the voters’ mindset is what looks like the motive behind such an act,” he said.
He said: “Poster campaign, around Tura undertaken by NPP youth wing against my objection in the district council to issue patta in non-scheduled areas by converting schedule areas to non-scheduled areas show how low can he stoop. How can district council assign scheduled areas as non-scheduled?” Marak questioned.
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“This is against the tribal community and in complete violation of the sixth schedule. BJP is raising a voice against illegal activities by NPP and now the CM is doing everything within his power to ensure that the BJP doesn’t win a seat in Meghalaya. His divide and rule formula is evident. He has created a rift between our two sitting MLAs while given a ticket to Hek’s nephew to fight against him in his party ticket,” said Marak.
The Meghalaya BJP vice president said that “even Sanbor Shullai was unnecessarily dragged into a controversy for something that got completely blown out of proportion”.
“Ever since the NPP was side-lined in Manipur, all their frustrations are being poured in the state against the BJP,” said Bernard Marak.
The Meghalaya police has claimed that the farmhouse of state BJP vice president Bernard Marak’s farmhouse 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.
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.