SHILLONG: Hunt is on by the police to get Mawhati MLA Julius Dorphang, who has been charged under the POCSO Act after an FIR named him as sexually exploiting a minor girl.
The case first surfaced after one Usha Deb Barman, a waiter at Marvelene’s Inn in Rilbong owned by Home Minister HDR Lyngdoh’s family, was arrested for trafficking of the 14-year-old girl.
The girl was taken to many guest houses and hotels and the police are examining different angles on the role of the accused in the sex racket case involving politicians and others.
Besides Marvelene’s Inn, the girl was sexually abused at a guest house in Madanrting and other places at Demthring and Umiam.
After the arrest of the waiter at Marvelene’s Inn, three other pimps Mamuni Parveen, Tarisha Mary Kharbamon and Mona Lisa Shangpliang, who transported the minor girl to different guest houses, and a client Madan Bahadur Thapa were arrested.
All the accused who were booked under various provisions of the IPC and the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act are currently in judicial custody.
Police are yet to arrest two more persons against whom an FIR was registered under the provisions of the POCSO Act.
Criticism has come to the fore from various quarters on the need of the Home Minister to relinquish his post for a fair inquiry into the matter.
According to some critics, the administration with the help of police are yet to close down Marvelene’s Inn where the trafficking case was first detected since the guest house is run by the the Home Minister’s family.
