NEW DELHI, July 26: The absconding BJP vice-president of Meghalaya Bernard N Marak, accused of operating an illegal sex racket at his farmhouse in Tura in Meghalaya’s West Garo Hills district, has been arrested in Hapur district in Uttar Pradesh on Tuesday.
Marak had been on the run after six minors were rescued and 73 people arrested from his farmhouse ‘Rimpu Bagan’ during a raid on Saturday. Police said Marak was asked to cooperate in the probe but is evading the investigators.
The arrest came hours after Meghalaya Police put out a lookout notice for the BJP leader. A Tura court had issued a non-bailable warrant against the BJP leader on Monday.
Six children, locked up at a resort in Tura owned by Marak, were rescued on Saturday, the police said. Claiming that a “brothel” was being operated from the place, they said the raid also led to the detention of 47 young men and 26 women — many of them found unclothed and drunk.
The police recovered a huge amount of liquor, around 500 packets of contraceptives, cellphones and incriminating documents, said state police chief LR Bishnoi.
Marak, a former militant leader and a member of Garo Hills Autonomous District Council (GHADC), was absconding since Saturday following the police raid. The UP police said a team from Meghalaya was on its way to take him to Tura.
“A Non-Bailable Warrant of Arrest (NBWA) had been issued against him in connection with the Immoral Trafficking Act, 1956. He will be duly handed over to Meghalaya police,” the UP police said.
“Bernard N Marak alias Rimpu, Meghalaya’s BJP Vice-President, has been arrested in Uttar Pradesh. A team is being sent there to bring him to Tura,” district Superintendent of Police Vivekanand Singh said.
(Manas Dasgupta)
