SHILLONG, July 29: The police are working overtime to make a watertight case against arrested state BJP vice president Bernard Marak, accused of running a brothel in his farmhouse, but Cabinet Minister James PK Sangma on Friday said one is innocent until proven guilty.
He said due process of law must be followed in the matter of Marak.
“I am a firm believer that a person should be presumed innocent until proven guilty. I think the court and the police must be allowed to carry out their work without any interference,” Sangma said.
On Marak and the BJP’s charge of ‘political vendetta’ in the case, he said “anyone drowning would clutch onto the straw.” At the same time however, he said Marak is entitled to make a statement or say anything in his defence.
Meanwhile, the Tura police denied reports that Marak is not taking his food in police custody.
West Garo Hills SP Vivekananda Singh Rathore said the BJP leader had his dinner as well as breakfast. He is medically fit to be kept in custody, the SP said.
After carrying out a raid at Marak’s farmhouse last week, the police had accused him of running a “brothel”.
Exodus of NEIGRIHMS doctors
Sangma expressed concern over the reports that the doctors from the NEIGRIHMS are going to other hospitals outside the state.
He said although the matter pertains to the Union government, the state government is concerned about it.
“Losing doctors in such a premier institute will be a loss not only for Meghalaya but the Northeast since patients from the entire region come here for treatment,” the minister said.
At least 20 doctors of NEIGRIHMS – the only super-speciality hospital in Meghalaya – are reportedly planning to shift to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Guwahati.
It was learnt they have already applied to the AIIMS Guwahati and are waiting to be absorbed. The AIIMS Guwahati has already appointed some doctors from the NEIGRIHMS.
Many doctors, seeking to move out of the NEIGRIHMS, had applied for the mandatory no-objection certificate from the institute but its former director DM Thappa had rejected their applications.
Incumbent Director Nalin Mehta had earlier downplayed the reported exodus. He, however, also stated that the institute would ensure the services are not affected despite being “stretched”.