Tripura MLA Mevar Jamatia detained in Delhi on molestation charges
Former Tripura minister and Indigenous People's Front of Tripura (IPFT) MLA Mevar Kumar Jamatia was booked by the Delhi Police on molestation charges on Wednesday. A woman lodged a molestation complaint around 2.35 am after the incident took place around 9.30 pm on Tuesday at the Tripura Bhawan in Delhi, the police said. Jamatia has been served a notice under CrPC Section 41(A).
The Delhi police have registered a case under sections 354 (assault or criminal force on woman with intent to outrage her modesty) and 354 A (sexual harassment and punishment for sexual harassment) of the Indian Penal Code. Deputy Commissioner of Police, Amrutha Guguloth said that the MLA has joined the investigation and has so far been cooperative. No arrest has been made yet.
Meanwhile, Ranjit Das, the Joint Resident Commissioner of Tripura Bhawan, apprised the Tripura government of the incident and urged that necessary action in the matter be taken. The complainant is a student in Delhi. The Delhi Police team met her twice on Tuesday night and recorded her statement. The police took both the complainant and the MLA to the police station in the morning.
The IPFT is the Bharatiya Janata Party's alliance partner in Tripura. IPFT general secretary Jamatia and president Narendra Chandra Debbarma became ministers in the coalition government in 2018. Jamatia's wife Gita Debbarma joined the Tipraha Indigenous Progressive Regional Alliance (TIPRA) fueling speculations that Jamatia might also join the TIPRA. Of late, Jamatia has been distancing himself from the IPFT because of an internal feud.
In another incident, a 21-year college student was allegedly kidnapped and raped in Tripura's Gomati district, the police said on Wednesday. She was allegedly abducted by three men in a vehicle when she was returning after taking her final examination. She was taken to a house, where a man raped her. The police rescued the girl, however, the main accused managed to flee.
The letter read, "It is to inform you that a team of Delhi Police visited TripuraBhawan twice yesterday night and met the victim, who is a student studying in Delhi. They recorded her statement regarding her complaint againstMevar KumarJamatia. The police team visited again in the early morning and took the victim andMevar KrJamatia to the police station."
