Self-styled ‘interlocutor for peace’ has history of criminal antecedents, links with GNLA
TURA: A medical doctor with a history of criminal antecedents, and who is allegedly close to jailed GNLA chairman Champion R Sangma, was arrested by Shillong Police on Saturday afternoon for abducting a teenage schoolgirl from Tura with intend to sexually assault her.
The arrested physician had, only a week ago, expressed his willingness to be an ‘interlocutor’ for peace talks between the government and the banned GNLA outfit from Garo Hills.
The doctor, identified as Jimmy Carter Sangma (38) kidnapped the 14-year-old girl from Montfort School in Tura after luring her away on the pretext of dropping her off to her home in the town on Friday afternoon.
While he was taking her away in his vehicle (black coloured Mahindra Scorpio) to the outskirts of town, the young girl managed to send a SMS from her mobile phone to her parents informing them of the abduction.
When the parents tried to get in touch with their daughter the accused doctor allegedly removed the battery and the SIM card from the phone handset to avoid detection.
The parents immediately rushed to Araimile Police Beat House and lodged an FIR about the kidnapping resulting in an all round alert to all police stations and outposts in Meghalaya. To avoid detection, the criminal doctor allegedly kept the young girl confined inside a hotel room in Guwahati for the night and on Saturday afternoon was proceeding towards Shillong when his vehicle was intercepted by Meghalaya Police at Mawlai.
“He was arrested on the spot and the girl was rescued at Mawlai itself. She narrated all details about her ordeal at the hands of the kidnapper,” informed Meghalaya Police. The vehicle driven by the doctor has also been seized by the police.
It is alleged that this is one among many such cases involving the physician who has reportedly lured many young and innocent school girls with the promise of marriage. He has allegedly flouted his links with the banned GNLA outfit to ward off any threat to his escapades.
Less than a week ago, the same doctor along with his close friend and businessman Arun Marak had approached the Meghalaya government, through West Garo Hills Deputy Commissioner Pravin Bakshi, to act as an ‘interlocutor’ for peace talks between the government and the GNLA.
A few years ago, he was reportedly detained by police and his vehicle searched for his links to the banned outfit.
The medical doctor, who was posted to a health centre in East Garo Hills, reportedly never attended office and was more involved in the coal business succeeding in purchasing a sports utility vehicle and even an earth mover prompting the government to issue a show cause notice to him.
Police sources allege that he was once groomed for the post of defense secretary of the GNLA until his detention which prompted him to distance himself from the group as police had obtained several clues to his links with the outfit.