Tura, July 23: On the run MDC from Tura, Bernard Marak has accused the chief minister, Conrad Sangma of being behind the raid on his farm house in the Edenbari on the outskirts of Tura. The raid led to the arrest of 73 persons who were present during the raid including revelers who had come there.
WGH police today filed a case against Bernard under sections of Immoral Trafficking (Prevention) Act while claiming that the farmhouse was being used as a brothel. It also asked him to surrender to the Shillong Sadar Police Station. However the MDC has been evading arrest for now.
“A mature individual cannot be called a prostitute for partying and no home stay can be termed a brothel. By allowing the police to frame human trafficking/prostitution against his own voters, the CM has made this very personal,” said Bernard in a release today.
The former ANVC (B) chairman claimed that there was a twist after yesterday’s raid was linked to a POCSO case in Feb, in which he was not an accused.
“Why should that case be linked to yesterday’s raid and innocent youths detained unlawfully? A pre meditated raid was conducted in my private farm and later at my mom’s house and all the allegations labelled are targeted to tarnish and arrest me as I have become a threat to CM,” he added.
Bernard added that the raid was conducted without a warrant and on the instructions of the CM.
“It was shocking to see a Deputy Commissioner and SP present during the raid which was conducted without warrant. In normal circumstances, it’s the excise department which conducts such raids but in my case all protocols are violated and the farm vandalised,” he claimed.
The MDC also claimed that the minors whose studies he was sponsoring were harassed.
The move, as per Bernard, was prompted as the CM was losing political ground and thus worked on targeting him and his family.
“The desperate attempt to malign my image and harass my family members and supporters is very personal in the way they took the law into their own hands. If he can have private parties in his residence with alcohol being served, why can’t another citizen be allowed to do so? This is a tribal state and eating and drinking is part of culture,” he stated.
Bernard claimed that the act had an ulterior motive of creating a negative mindset against the BJP in the state.
“BJP is raising a voice against illegal activities by the NPP and now the CM is doing everything within his power to ensure that the BJP doesn’t win a seat in Meghalaya. His divide and rule formula is evident,” said the BJP state vice president.