The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has described the Friday raid on a property belonging to Tura MDC and party member Bernard N Marak as an attempt to unjustly frame and malign him.
A press release from the state BJP’s media department said that the party “condemns the raid” which is “politically motivated”. The release was not signed, though the email came from an address periodically used by the Meghalaya BJP.
According to the statement, the building is of three storeys, with the ground floor used as a banquet hall, the first floor comprises 30 rooms used as a homestay and the second floor is for hostel accommodation for underprivileged children from Garo Hills.
“These children have been staying since the pandemic and Bernard Marak has been supporting them financially as well. From amongst the children who were taken by the police, five are minors who are supported by Bernard Marak and studying in Edenbari School and Auxilium Convent School in Tura. Also, the caretaker’s wife and child were taken away by the police. A married couple who run a fast food [restaurant] on the premises were also taken by the police,” it said.
In a statement yesterday, police said that the building is indeed of three storeys but that two of those are underground. Police believe that the ‘farmhouse’ was the place where a minor girl had been raped repeatedly earlier this year. In its Friday raid, the authorities found large amounts of alcohol, hundreds of unused condoms and children kept in “dingy” conditions.
The police, who detained 73 people, described the building as a brothel, claiming that many youngsters were openly drinking in various states of undress when the raid took place.
However, the BJP said that all the people arrested at the resort were guests who had paid for their stay.
“The general public of Tura would often visit this resort during the weekends for picnics and also staying over. The guests staying at the resort come from respectable families and branding the resort a ‘brothel’ is highly objectionable and unacceptable. Young underprivileged children have also been shown in poor light. As mentioned the resort has been running for the last three years and there have never been any complaints whatsoever,” the party statement said.
Marak is one of the fiercest critics of the Meghalaya Democratic Alliance government and is thought to be considering a run against Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma in the South Tura constituency at next year’s state elections.
“It is obvious that these allegations have been made to tarnish the image of BJP state vice-president and convener of Garo Hills, Bernard Marak, due to his growing popularity in Garo Hills, specifically South Tura,” the release stated.
It alleged that posters had been put up by Sangma’s National People’s Party maligning Marak the day before the raid. “It is also very clear that it is a political vendetta as Bernard Marak’s mother’s house was also raided without any warrant. This is seen as pure harassment.”
