6 children rescued, 73 arrested from 'brothel' run by BJP leader in Meghalaya, police say
Shillong, July 23: Six children were rescued and 73 people were arrested from a "brothel" allegedly run by BJP's Meghalaya vice-president Bernard N Marak in Tura on Saturday, a senior police officer said.
Rimpu Bagan, a farmhouse owned by militant-turned-politician Marak, was raided on the basis of a tip-off, West Garo Hills district's Superintendent of Police Vivekanand Singh told PTI.
"We have rescued six minors -- four boys and two girls -- who were found locked inside dingy cabin-like unhygienic rooms at Rimpu Bagan run by Bernard N Marak and his accomplices as a brothel for the purpose of prostitution," Singh said.
All the children were handed over to the District Child Protection Officer (DCPO) for safe custody and further necessary action as per law, he said.
In the raid, about 400 bottles of liquor and over 500 unused condoms were found, he added.
Seventy-three people were arrested for their indulgence in "nefarious activities" as evidpent from the material seized, the officer said, adding that the farmhouse has 30 small rooms.
It is suspected to be the place where a girl was sexually assaulted, and a case was filed in that regard in February 2022, he said.
Marak, an elected member of the Garo Tribal Autonomous District Council, in a statement attacked Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma for the raid, denying the allegation of running a "brothel".
"The CM is getting desperate as he knows he is losing his South Tura seat to the BJP. The raid at my farmhouse is a desperate attempt by him to malign my image and a political vendetta," he claimed.
Marak is yet to be arrested, police said.
The BJP is a part of the ruling Meghalaya Democratic Alliance, led by Sangma's NPP.
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BJP has history of ‘contradictory alliances’, says BK Hariprasad
Bengaluru: Congress MLC B. K. Hariprasad has launched a sharp attack on the BJP, accusing the party of hypocrisy over its criticism of alliance politics in Tamil Nadu.
In a post on X on Friday, Hariprasad said BJP leader B. L. Santhosh criticising the Congress party’s alliance politics in Tamil Nadu was “not just laughable, but the height of political contradiction.”
He said the Congress has always joined hands with like-minded parties to protect secular and democratic values in the country.
Hariprasad questioned the BJP over several of its past and present alliances across the country. Referring to Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Tripura, Bihar and Maharashtra, he accused the BJP of sharing power with parties it had earlier criticised.
He alleged that the BJP had aligned with separatist and corruption-linked political forces in different states for political gains.
“The BJP, which speaks against alliances today, should first look at its own political history,” he said, adding that the party’s record was full of “contradictions and changing stands.”
Hariprasad also accused the BJP of using central agencies such as the Enforcement Directorate, Income Tax Department and CBI as political tools to target opposition leaders, topple governments and influence electoral mandates.
He further claimed that the people of Tamil Nadu had strongly rejected the BJP and its ideology in the recent election.
“Congress forms alliances to protect the Constitution, secularism and national unity, while the BJP enters into alliances only for power,” he said.
