Who is Bernard Marak, the Meghalaya BJP leader arrested for running a ‘brothel’

Bernard Marak, the Meghalaya BJP vice-president, has been in news since 6 children were rescued from his farmhouse in West Garo hills and he was arrested for allegedly running a brothel there.

The former militant leader has a history of cases against him. Since the early 2000s, he was booked under various sections of the IPC and Immoral Trafficking (Prevention) Act, 1956 with over 25 criminal cases against him across the North East state.

Son of a forest official, Marak joined the Achik National Volunteer Council (ANVC), an insurgent group that proposed to cull out a separate state called 'Achik Land' for the Garo tribe, including the merger of Garo areas of Assam and Meghalaya's West Khasi Hills.

Following the breach of a ceasefire agreement between the Centre and the ANVC, Marak parted ways with group to form a splinter group ANVC-B in 2011. In 2014, both militant groups laid down arms and signed a peace treaty with the Centre

Marak's tryst with BJP has been that of ups and downs. He joined the saffron party after peace talks, but quit the party in 2017 over Centre's ban on sale of cattle slaughter. In 2019 he rejoined tha party and won from Tura in Garo Hills Autononomous District Council election held in 2021.

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The busting of brothel scam allegedly run by Marak has not drawn a vocal reaction from the BJP with its Meghalaya unit claiming that he was being framed. Congress, on the other hand has sought an independent probe against him. Marak himself has rubbished the allegations as political vendetta by Meghalya CM Conrad Sangma .

Marak, accused of running the brothel at his farmhouse was on the run since Saturday, and was arrested in UP' Hapur's district.
6 minor girls including four boys and 2 girls were found inside a dingy cabin at the farmhouse