SHILLONG/ TURA, July 30: Not just the BJP’s Meghalaya leadership, the party’s state in-charge M Chuba Ao also alleged Bernard Marak has been framed.
He asked why only the resort of Marak, who is the BJP’s state vice president, was targeted when there are several such resorts operating in Tura.
According to Ao, the Tura SP told him action was taken based on a complaint from a minor girl who was assaulted at the resort but he asked if that was the case, why the police are taking action after five months.
Further, he asked why only one media house “Hub News” was taken to the resort during the raid and why the police raided the private property twice.
Claiming that the police were camping there when ammunition was recovered for the second time, he said, “Many questions are coming up on whether it was a state-managed raid.”
Ao said Marak is a former militant and his habit and attitude will be different. The state government has done too much by framing him, the BJP leader said.
He asked Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma to clarify the position of the National People’s Party (NPP) which is a BJP ally.
He said if something was going on, the NPP should have informed the BJP.
Stating that the BJP has full faith in the judicial system, he said Marak is an RTI activist and he was raising his voice for truth.
“Our partner (NPP) is taking us lightly,” Ao said, adding there should have been a discussion on the issue in the government since the BJP is one of its constituents.
It was learnt Ao visited Shillong recently and held discussions with BJP state president Ernest Mawrie on the matter. He is expected to raise it before party’s national president JP Nadda and possibly, also Union Home Minister Amit Shah next month.
Lamenting that AL Hek was also dropped from the ministry without any discussions, Ao said these incidents are recurring and the BJP has reservations about such behaviour.
“We blame the government that he (Bernard) is being framed,” Ao said.
Protest in BJP Tura office
Members of the BJP – Garo Hills, on Saturday, held a protest in their office in Tura after the administration denied them permission to hold a sit-in demonstration in front of the office of the West Garo Hills Deputy Commissioner.
Party members decided that they still needed to get their point across leading to the protest being made in their own office premises.
The BJP members during the protest condemned the alleged harassment of their leaders while also seeking security for Tura MDC Bernard Marak.
Marak had earlier been sent to eight-day police custody over three cases that were filed against him by the Tura Police. These cases relate to immoral trafficking, presence of explosive as well as a POCSO case after police informed that one of the minor rescued on July 22 from his farmhouse in Edenbari had been sexually assaulted.
The meeting began at about 11:30 am and continued for about two hours with the protesting BJP members shouting slogans on their demands.