Uttarakhand: Over 20 cops launch manhunt to nab rape-accused former BJP leader

The Uttarakhand police have deployed 20 personnel, divided into seven teams of specialist cops, across various locations in the state to nab rape-accused absconding former BJP leader Mukesh Bora.

Despite their efforts, Bora has been on the run for over three weeks after a 36-year-old woman accused him of rape and sexually assaulting her minor daughter.

“Over 20 police personnel, divided into seven teams including specialist cops, have been deployed in different locations. They are conducting regular raids at possible hideouts of the accused. We can’t deploy everybody as we suspect there’s a mole in the system. We can’t afford to get information leaked. But we will catch him very soon as we feel we are very close,” Haldwani circle officer Nitin Lohani said.

Another police official, who did not wish to be named, said, “A transport department official had been feeding information to Bora through WhatsApp. Some others have been involved in similar practices, which have helped him evade the police.”

Lohani further said, “We will also book those giving Bora shelter under charges of harbouring the offender.”

Stating that the police will announce a cash reward on the arrest of the accused, a senior officer said the department will begin the process to declare Bora a ‘fugitive’ once the chargesheet in the case is filed in the court.

The police had on September 21 said they could not deny the possibility of Bora trying to flee to bordering Nepal amid unconfirmed reports of him taking a taxi to escape to the neighbouring country.

The Uttarakhand HC had on September 21 rejected the anticipatory bail application moved by Bora.

Dushyant Mainali, the victim’s counsel, said, “Justice Ravindra Maithani rejected the anticipatory bail application of Bora. The court said there is no remedy for anticipatory bail in POCSO cases. Apart from that, the court has also declared him an absconder.”

The HC order stated that according to the state government counsel, “if the petitioner/accused is granted interim protection at this stage then the investigation into the allegations would be adversely affected and would lead to miscarriage of justice”.

A day prior to that, the Nainital Police confiscated properties attached to Bora.

Bora, former administrator at the Uttarakhand Cooperative Dairy Federation (UCDF), is accused of raping a 36-year-old woman under the pretext of providing her a permanent job and molesting her 12-year-old daughter.

A case against Bora and his driver Kamal Belwal was registered at Lal Kuan police station on September 1 under sections 376 (2) and 506 of the Indian Penal Code. Relevant charges under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act were added later in the FIR.

The state government removed him from the UCDF post on the very day he was booked by the police.

A District and Sessions Court had on September 7 rejected his anticipatory bail plea stating that there was no provision for such relief under POCSO.

The woman, an outsource employee at the Nainital milk federation, alleged in her complaint that the accused BJP leader first raped her on November 10, 2021, at a hotel and then raped her for the second time on December 26, 2021, at the same hotel under the pretext of converting her contractual employment into a permanent one.

“The accused continued to call me to the hotel and rape me. He then asked me for such favours even with his friends. When I refused, his driver Kamal Belwal threatened to kill me,” the complainant said.

Meanwhile, the Congress has attacked the BJP for “not arresting Bora on time, allowing him to flee”.

Mathura Dutt Joshi, state Congress vice president (organization), said, “They (police) first allowed Bora to flee and didn’t arrest him on time. It is a clear indication that the BJP has been sheltering and patronising Bora.”

BJP state president Mahendra Bhatt, however, said, “The BJP and our leaders are not sheltering Bora. The police have been making intense efforts to arrest him. He will soon be arrested.”