Former Meghalaya MLA Gets 25 Years in Jail for Raping Minor in 2017
Julius Dorphang was accused of raping a 14-year-old in 2017 when he was still an MLA. Following the allegation of rape, he had absconded. APOCSO court in Meghalaya on Tuesday sentenced former Mawhati legislator and Hynniewtrep National Liberation Council (HNLC) militant, Julius Dorphang to 25 years in imprisonment for the rape of a minor girl. The sentence was pronounced by Special Judge Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO), FS Sangma in Ri-Bhoi district. According to Dorphang’s counsel, Kishore Ch Gautam, the verdict would be challenged at the Meghalaya High Court. “Yeah he has been convicted and I will be filing an appeal in the Meghalaya High Court. I do not agree with the finding of the trial court,” Advocate Gautam said. Dorphang, a former Hynniewtrep National Liberation Council militant, was the founder and the Chairman of the outfit before he surrendered before the police in 2007. He later contested and won from Mawahati assembly election in Ri-Bhoi district in 20...