State to have regulatory board to check sex racket
SHILLONG: Home Minister HDR Lyngdoh said on Friday a legal regulatory mechanism would soon be in place after UDP’s Jemino Mawthoh cautioned the State government to be aware of Shillong becoming the capital of sex and other crimes while moving a call attention on misuse of Marvelene’s Inn and other guest houses for flesh trade.
Incidentally, the Marvelene’s Inn is run by the family of the Home Minister.
Moving the motion in the Assembly on Friday based on the revelations of nine sex workers as appeared in a vernacular daily, Mawthoh said Marvelene’s Inn has become the safest and most frequented place by sex workers followed by Shillong Club, Orchid Hotel, Hotel Pinewood, Night Inn and others.
Stating that the trend is alarming, Mawthoh said as many as 699 female sex workers were registered with Manbha Foundation based in Shillong.
The UDP legislator asked the government not to be complacent on the matter.
In his reply, the Home minister said the DGP has already directed the Deputy Inspector General of Police (Eastern Range) to conduct a thorough inquiry into the revelations made by the sex workers.
Lyngdoh said the Deputy Inspector General of Police has already summoned the proprietors and managers of different hotels and guest houses in and around Shillong for questioning and the process was still on.
He said following the publication of the news related to the matter, the chairperson of the State Commission for Protection of Child Rights also brought to the notice of the DGP the incidents of flesh trade in hotels and guest houses.
The DGP has already directed both DIGs of the Eastern Range and the Western Range to instruct district Superintendents of Police to direct owners and managers of the hotels and guest houses to install CCTV cameras, which should be functional, at appropriate places.
“Proper records should be maintained about the persons who stay in these hotels and guest houses and the hotel managements should be sensitised that no illegal activities should be carried out in their hotels and if such a thing is found, strict action against them will be taken as per law,” Lyngdoh said.
According to Lyngdoh, hotel owners and managers should be asked to inform police immediately if they get a wind of such activities.
“Hotel owners and managers should be strictly warned that if it was found that sex workers were frequenting their hotels or guest houses, action will be taken as per law and their hotels and guest houses will be sealed,” Lyngdoh said.
He said police have also initiated a proposal for enacting a regulatory mechanism for granting licenses to hotels, motels, guest houses, resorts and others in Meghalaya which is under active consideration of the government.
Status of Marvelene’s Inn cases
The home minister said in connection with Marvelene’s Inn, three cases have been registered which are (i) Madanrting PS Case No. 75(12)2016 U/S 336 A IPC read with Section 5 of the I.T (P) Act and section 3/4 POCSO Act where 26 witnesses have been examined and six persons arrested (ii) Laban PS case No. 04(01) 2017 under Section 370 of the IPC read with Sections 21(1) and (2) of the POCSO Act where 28 witnesses have been examined and two persons arrested, and (iii) Laban PS Case NO. 8(1)2017 under Section 5 (g) (a) / 6/17 of the POCSO Act read with Section 5 of I.T. (P) Act where six witnesses have been examined and six persons arrested.
According to the Home minister, the government is taking a holistic approach to address the problem and necessary steps are being taken in this regard.
Referring to the concerns of Mawthoh, who had said sex workers get into the vicious circle driven by poor financial condition at home, the home minister said he shares the concerns of the member that there are certain deprived and underprivileged members of society who are made to enter this trade due to economic compulsions.
“We need to fight this malice collectively and in a concerted way. This practice is not only illegal but is a societal problem as well. We need the cooperation of the members of the House as well as the cooperation of the families, civil society organisations, NGOs, educational institutions and government departments to fight this problem in a holistic way,” he added.
The Home minister also asked the MLAs to give their suggestion in this regard.