West Garo Hills police today busted a ‘brothel’ which is allegedly run by BJP’s Vice President Bernard N Marak in Tura and rescued five children, including a minor girl.
Police also arrested 73 persons during a raid that lasted almost 12 hours at his Rimpu Bagan, a farmhouse he owned in Edenbari locality of Tura.
Police had raided the premises after a minor girl had identified the farmhouse as the place where she and her friend had been taken and raped multiple times by men for several days. The family of the girl had registered a case of rape and kidnapping earlier.
Superintendent of Police, Vivekanand Singh Rathore in a press statement said, “Shockingly, five children (4 boys and one girl) were also found locked inside dingy cabin like unhygienic rooms. He said all of them were in a state of shock and were unable to speak properly.”
All the children were handed over to the District Child Protection Officer (DCPO) for safe custody and further necessary action as per law, he said.
“From the materials recovered at Rimpu Bagan as well as the design of building etc., it appears that the place was being used by Bernard N. Marak @ Rimpu and his accomplices as a brothel for the purpose of prostitution,” he said.
Further the SP said the search team had detained around 68 boys and girls for interrogation. “Some managed to run away taking advantage of darkness and by running over crushed liquor bottles. The search team also apprehended the manager, caretaker and other three staff.”
In the raid, 36 vehicles, 49 mobile phones, 210383 ml liquor, 500 unused contraceptives (condoms), cross bow barnet with telescope and 44 arrows, kukri (knife), dao (machete), register containing records of visitors, records of the vehicles of visitors, PAN cards, cash Rs 30,000 and other incriminated documents.
Rathore said that a case vide Tura Women PS Case No. 105(07)2022 u/s 3/4/5/6/7 of Immoral Trafficking (Prevention) Act, 1956 has been registered and being investigated.
The SP informed that the main accused Bernard N Marak was verbally instructed to cooperate with the investigation and surrender at Shillong Sadar police station immediately.
“However, he has not cooperated and is evading arrest at the time of issue of this press release. The search operation is continuing,” he said.
Marak, an elected member of the Garo Tribal Autonomous District Council, in a statement last night attacked Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma for the raid, denying the allegation of running a “brothel”.
“The CM is getting desperate as he knows he is losing his South Tura seat to the BJP. The raid at my farmhouse is a desperate attempt by him to malign my image and a political vendetta,” he claimed.
