Cong demands removal of Meghalaya MLA facing rape charge from house panels

Shillong, June 2 (IANS) The opposition Congress in Meghalaya on Wednesday urged Speaker Metbah Lyngdoh to remove National People's Party (NPP) MLA Thomas A. Sangma from the various Assembly committees as he has been accused of "abusing a woman".The Meghalaya police on Tuesday confirmed that a woman had lodged an FIR against Sangma for allegedly "abusing her sexually".In her FIR, the victim accused Sangma, who was elected from the North Tura (ST) Assembly seat, to have raped her on different occasions at her residence and at a hotel in Shillong. East Khasi Hills district SP S. Nongtnger said that a probe is on in the matter.Congress legislator and chairperson of the Assembly Committee for Empowerment of Women, Ampareen Lyngdoh, in his letter to the Speaker demanded the removal of Sangma from the different Assembly committees because of the seriousness of the charges against him.She said: "As the head of the Assembly Committee for the Empowerment of Women, I am committed to ensuring that justice is not denied, especially to women."Lyngdoh cited the removal of former MLA Julius Dorphang from a few Assembly committees in 2017 after an FIR was filed against him on charges of sexual assault.Sangma is the Chairman of the Assembly Committee on Estimates and a member of the Public Accounts Committee.
--IANS sc/arm