TURA:
Three days after the police raided his farmhouse over reports of running a prostitution racket and he fleeing to Delhi giving police a slip, the Chief Judicial Magistrate in Tura, on July 25, issued a non-bailable warrant against Tura Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) member of the district council (MDC), Bernard N Marak.
“The non-bailable warrant of arrest has been issued against Bernard N Marak. It’s a standing warrant issued by the court of the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Tura,” informed West Garo Hills Superintendent of Police, Vivekanand Singh Rathore, to The Meghalayan.
With the issuance of the non bailable arrest warrant, the absconding BJP leader is likely to find it difficult to obtain an anticipatory bail to avoid arrest and police sources say that this was the actual agenda of the state BJP vice president to get away and move a court outside of the state.
“The court has given a non bailable warrant and we will ensure the law is followed. We will arrest him,” reiterated the Tura SP.
The BJP MDC has been alleging that Meghalaya police are out to “gun him down” which is why he disappeared from Shillong despite police directing him to surrender at the Sadar Police Station in Shillong.
Although Marak has claimed that he would cooperate with authorities, so far, he has failed to appear before the authorities, be it Shillong or Delhi.
Marak, a former chairman of the disbanded Achik National Volunteer Council – Breakaway (ANVC.B), has been absconding after a sex racket was busted in his private farmhouse during a raid on Friday night.
The BJP state vice president, however, had categorically denied running a “brothel” at his farmhouse, Rimpu Bagan, and alleged that the police raid was staged since BJP is growing from strength to strength in Garo Hills region.