Jailed Meghalaya BJP leader Bernard Marak granted bail in three-year-old girl's rape case
Shillong (PTI): BJP leader Bernard N Marak was granted bail by the Meghalaya High Court in a case pertaining to the alleged rape of a three-year-old girl at his farmhouse in West Garo Hills district.
Marak, an elected member of the Garo Hills Autonomous District Council and also the state BJP vice-president, was earlier granted bail in connection with the running of a brothel in the farmhouse and the seizure of arms and ammunition from the premises.
Passing the bail order on Monday in the final case pending against him related to the farmhouse, a single bench of Justice W Diengdoh observed that there was no direct evidence linking Marak to the alleged sexual assault of the child, and noted that the politician was confined on "very filmsy grounds".
The BJP leader was directed not to leave the country or try to tamper with the evidence, and asked to appear before the investigating officer as and when required, besides paying a personal bond of Rs 30,000 with two solvent sureties of like amount.
Disposing of the bail petition filed by the BJP leader's brother Tingku N Marak, the court stated that the accused was not apprehended along with the girl during a raid on his farmhouse, and to say that he is likely to be the offender only due to the fact that he is the owner of the property is "too far fetched".
"On consideration of the facts and circumstances involving the case of the accused brother of the petitioner, keeping in mind the value of liberty of a person who is confined in custody on very flimsy grounds, this court is of the opinion that the instant petition has some merits," it stated.
On July 26, Bernard N Marak was arrested from Hapur district in Uttar Pradesh after he allegedly absconded following the busting of a "sex racket" at his farmhouse that led to the rescue of 25 minors and arrest of 73 people.
The three-year-old girl was among those found in the farmhouse. Her medical examination confirmed that she was sexually abused and during further investigation, Marak was named among the accused.
However, the examination stated that sexual abuse perpetrated against her was not of recent origin. She has been placed in a children's home.
Following nearly a month in police custody, Marak was remanded to judicial custody, and he was in prison for the last three months.
Earlier, on October 1, the court granted bail to Marak in cases related to the farmhouse, while hearing a bail application filed by his wife L K Gracy.
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Gujarat court sentences three to life imprisonment in cow slaughter case
Ahmedabad: A sessions court in Gujarat’s Amreli district recently sentenced three persons to life imprisonment for cow slaughter under provisions of the Gujarat Animal Preservation Act.
In the judgement, Sessions Judge Rizvana Bukhari held Kasim Solanki, Sattar Solanki and Akram Solanki guilty of cow slaughter, observing that the three men did it despite knowing that the animals were considered sacred in Hinduism, as reported by Deccan Herald.
The court also imposed a heavy fine of Rs 6 lakh on each of the accused.
The Gujarat Animal Preservation Act prohibits slaughter of any animal of cow progeny in the state.
The Bhupendra Patel-led Gujarat government hailed the verdict as "historic" and asserted that the government was committed to protect the cow which is the "center of Indian culture and faith and the state government will have no mercy" for such crimes.
During the proceedings, Special Public Prosecutor Chandresh Mehta said that this was the first time that three persons had been convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment in a single case of cow slaughter in Gujarat by a court.
