TURA, July 23: Every time police acted against the criminal antecedents of the Tura BJP MDC Bernard N Marak, he has been quick to claim innocence and have for years charged police and administration of harassment.

His modus operandi has always been to approach media houses with statements showing himself to be a victim at the hands of the law enforcement agencies.

The Tura MDC tried the same tactics on Friday night when the raid began at his farmhouse. He quickly issued a press release terming the raid as “illegal” as the police did not have any warrant.

Leading media houses in the state fell for the story of the former rebel leader until the recoveries started emerging showing the kind of activities that were taking place inside the farmhouse.

That has been the style of the BJP leader for the past many years.

“He will always come up with a different claim or use a fake name of an organisation to divert attention, but we have been building up evidence on him including confessions from his cadres who get arrested,” reveals Tura police.

Bomb attack on Tura petrol pump and killing of 4 militants in police raid:

One particular attempt to divert attention was after a bomb explosion at Tura’s main petrol pump in AOC Hawakhana when his group quickly issued a fake press release claiming it to be the handiwork of a non-existent rebel group called A’chik Matchapeng that failed to impress police.

On the evening of January 13, 2014 an improvised explosive device (IED) was lobbed at the AOC petrol pump. There was a massive explosion but fortunately there were no pedestrians walking by and the pump had just shut down early due to the winter season thereby preventing casualties.

The explosion was in retaliation for the police raid on the same farmhouse at Edenbari. In that raid dozens of young boys and girls undergoing armed training were arrested after they put up a fight shooting bows and arrows on police teams causing injury to two personnel.

Following the AOC bomb attack, Tura police raided another camp of the ANVC-B located in Chunmati area, outskirts of Tura on the road to Kherapara.

The camp had been set up by the BJP MDC on land given to him.

In that operation police shot dead 4 ANVC-B cadres and seized pistols, dozens of bows and arrows and even IED bombs concealed in mud holes on the ground.

Following the killing, Bernard escaped from Garo Hills and disappeared for many months. He was able to avoid prosecution as he was a member of the outfit that had signed a peace accord with the government.

But these are not the only charges against the BJP leader who faces more than 25 cases with police in Garo Hills.

June 2019 attack on student leaders houses in Tura: Bernard Rimpu and his henchman Wilver Danggo, currently leading the youth wing of the BJP in Garo Hills, attacked the homes of the leaders of Garo organisations ADE and AYWO.

Leading a gang of over two dozen armed men, Bernard and Wilver barged into the homes of AYWO’s Sengbath Ch Marak and ADE president Dalseng Bira Ch Momin in Tura.

Showing guns and daggers they manhandled the family members and even entered the bedroom of one of the women of the house leading to a molestation charge and attempted rape being filed against them by the woman.

The raid was to seek out the whereabouts of the ADE and AYWO leaders and, unable to get answers, the men had manhandled the inmates of the two homes.

The ANVC-B leader had targeted the leaders of ADE, AYWO, GSU, FKJGP after their supporters set on fire Bernard’s farmhouse at Edenbari for demanding protection money from thousands of teer gambling counters all over Garo Hills.

Bernard had accused these organisations of collecting extortion money every day from each of these counters and demanded that they pay him protection money.

Girls recruitment for women armed force by Bernard (May 2013)– Bernard Marak created a flutter when reports emerged of him recruiting innocent girls from the villages and convincing them to join his outfit and set up a women’s unit of the ANVC-B.

With intelligence inputs emerging of the girls being lured for sexual activities, Tura police raided the farmhouse and rescued most of them.

Cold blooded murder of petrol pump worker in Tura:

On August 14 2014, an innocent petrol pump attendant working at Rachel petrol station in Bokmagre, outskirts of Tura, was shot dead at point blank range by two motorcycle borne youth suspected to be members of the ANVC-B group belonging to Bernard Marak.

Inciting communal tension with murder of migrant workers:

In the same month, August 2014, two migrant labourers from Assam who were engaged in construction of a house on the outskirts of Tura town were dragged away, tied up and bludgeoned to death. Their bodies were put into gunny bags and thrown into a gorge on the road towards
Edenbari.

Police investigation led them to Bernard’s farmhouse from where 24 cadres were arrested and taken for questioning after the seizure of multiple daggers and firearms. While 18 cadres were given judicial custody, 6 others were handed over to police for further questioning.

It was during the questioning that one of the arrested ANVC-B leaders, Salingbirth D Sangma alias Solid confessed that the murders were carried out to formant communal tension between Garos from Garo Hills and the muslim majority Dhubri-Mankachar region of nearby Assam at the behest of Bernard Marak.

A warrant of arrest was issued against Bernard Marak but he went underground and didn’t surface until the peace agreement talks went forward.

Attack on Catholic church leaders:

Animosity against the then Bishop of Tura, George Mamalassary and a section of the clergy made Bernard Marak target them with attempts at inciting differences.

As was his practise, he mobilised his supporters and staged a protest dharna outside the Tura Bishop House and his alibi was that he wanted reforms.

Soon after, he allegedly led a gang of men armed with lethal weapons and forced their way into the Catholic parish school in Dalu during the night in search of the parish priest who was fortunately whisked away to safety.

An investigation revealed that the militant leader has been antagonised after the schools under the church refused to give any more orders for computer systems through him citing sub-standard equipment and extremely high prices.

He is also accused of leading a poster campaign to seek the ouster of previous Tura Don Bosco College principal Fr P D Johny.