Guwahati: The vice-president of the state unit of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Meghalaya, Bernard Marak was placed in police custody on Thursday for a period of six days.
Marak was placed in police custody by the Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) in the West Garo Hills region of the state in connection with the discovery of explosives at his Tura home.
Marak was once more taken into custody by the Meghalaya police on Wednesday, and he appeared in court the following day.
Marek allegedly also used his farmhouse as a “brothel,” and police discovered a significant number of explosives there.
The police officials discovered up to 35 gelatin sticks, 100 detonators, four crossbows, and 15 arrows hidden within a farmhouse’s “secret room.”
Notably, Bernard Marak headed a militant group that has since disintegrated before going into politics. He has been the subject of more than 25 criminal investigations since the 2000s.
The Meghalaya BJP vice-president was first detained by Uttar Pradesh police on July 26 after Meghalaya police had issued a lookout notice for him in the “brothel” case.
Meghalaya police stormed his Rimpu Bagan farmhouse on the evening of July 22 and detained 73 persons, including 24 girls. They then accused him of operating a prostitution ring out of his Tura farmhouse.
They apparently also freed five youngsters who were imprisoned in a room with terrible conditions, including a girl and four boys.
The corrupt BJP leader’s bank accounts had millions of dollars’ worth of undeclared money, according to the Meghalaya police.
Following his arrest, Marak’s bank accounts were blocked, and an inquiry is being conducted into claims that he ran a prostitution ring.
Superintendent of Police (SP) V S Rathore of the West Garo Hills district said, “The money in the accounts amount to a few crores and are unaccounted for. He hasn’t offered a convincing justification for the money.
He continued, “There have been consistent, long-term deposits of funds into these bank accounts.