GUWAHATI: Meghalaya police will issue a lookout notice against rebel chief-turned-MLA Julius Dorphang, who is on the run after being accused of sexually exploiting a 14-year-old girl last month.
“Yes, we will issue a lookout notice against him,” Meghalaya’s East Khasi Hills Superintendent of Police M Kharkrang told Express.
Dorphang, the founder-chairman of banned insurgent group Hynniewtrep National Liberation Council (HNLC), went into hiding after he was booked under various Sections of the IPC and POCSO Act. On Wednesday, a court in Shillong had issued a non-bailable arrest warrant against him amid a stepped up campaign by two civil society groups against the MLA as well as the government.
Dorphang, the Independent MLA from Mawhati constituency, is supporting the state’s ruling Congress. The victim had filed an FIR on December 16 accusing the MLA of sexually exploiting her in a guest house in Shillong the previous day. The guest house is reportedly owned by the son of a senior Meghalaya minister. In the FIR, the victim named at least eight persons - five of them have been arrested so far.
The case came to light after a waiter of the guest house was arrested for allegedly trafficking the victim. Meanwhile, the Meghalaya police raided some houses in Guwahati on Thursday in search of the MLA. Guwahati Police Commissioner Hiren Nath confirmed the raids.