Will request court to add more penalty:SP

By Our Reporter

SHILLONG, JAN 7: East Khasi hills SP (city) Vivek Syiem said the police will be seeking five days police remand of legislator Julius Dorphang and will request the court to add more rigorous penalty against him by including section 5 (C) /6 of the POCSO Act which relate to offences committed by people in power.

Syiem told reporters on Saturday afternoon, he had informed of Dorphang arrest to Meghalaya assembly speaker AT Mondal. He informed that police hopes to file chargesheet against the Mawhati MLA at the earliest.

Dorphang will be produced before the court of additional district commissioner on Saturday afternoon. The legislator had gone on hiding after he was named in FIRs of raping a 14 years old minor girl twice. The allegations surfaced after the girl was rescued from a guest house owned by the son of Meghalaya home minister HDR Lyngdoh.

Syiem informed that more arrest will be made in the case.  With Dorphang, altogether 7 persons involved in the trafficking and sexual assault of the minor girl have been arrested and booked under relevant sections of the Act.

Dorphang was arrested from an inter-state bus terminus in neighboring Assam. He had managed to evade the police  for 11 days after he was booked under the POCSO Act.

Two cases have been registered against him in Laitumkhrah police station on December 24, last year and in Ri Bhoi district.

A non-bailable warrant of arrest was also issued by a local court.

Syiem informed that the MLA was alone and was arrested while he was trying to escape because of heightened raids conducted by the state police with the help of Guwahati city police.

Syiem informed that prior to his arrest, raids were conducted in several places including in the office of the former ULFA leader Anup Chetia.