SHILLONG: The search for Mawhati MLA Julius Dorphang, who is wanted for the rape of a 14-year-old girl, has been futile so far.
East Khasi Hills SP M. Kharkrang said the MLA is absconding. “He is not at his residence nor has he come to the police station. We are still searching for him,” he added.
Another source in the police said an investigating team met Dorphang’s relatives and conveyed that he should report to the police at the earliest. The MLA’s mobile phone was found to be not reachable.
Besides charges under the POCSO Act, a case has been registered against the legislator under sections of the Immoral Trafficking (Prevention) Act.
A police official said it would be better for Dorphang to surrender to the police before he was officially declared an offender with permission from the court. It is yet to be known whether Dorphang applied for an anticipatory bail.
The latest video recorded statement of the girl before the magistrate under Section 164 of the CrPC, Dorphang raped her twice, once in a guest house at Motinagar and the second time in Ri Bhoi.
The girl had made similar statements before the police under Section 163 of the CrPC and also before the chairperson of the State Commission for Protection of Child Rights, Meena Kharkongor.
Sources said as per the POCSO case, which has already been registered by the police, the Assembly Speaker needs to be informed only after the arrest of the MLA and need not take any prior permission.
