DHAKA: The deputy mayor of a town in the Indian state of Bihar was arrested by police while in the company of two call girls at a city-based hotel in Patna on Monday night, shortly after he had attended a crucial meeting with a team of the visiting Finance Commission.

The arrest comes amid ongoing nationwide protests in the country over rampant sexual assaults and demands for severe punishment for those convicted.

Gaya deputy mayor Mohan Srivastava and six others were caught during a raid conducted by the Patna police at a posh hotel in the heart of the city.

He had come attend a meeting between local government representatives and the 14th Finance Commission, which arrived in Patna on Monday to hold consultations with the state government and key stakeholders before making its recommendations to the federal government.

Police said that soon after the meeting of the local government bodies’ representatives was over, Srivastava and other suspects rushed to the hotel for the night but were soon caught by the police officers who were investigating the sex racket.

Police said they were looking into the role of the hotel and how the call girls reached the rooms.

‘His act has brought shame to all of us. Now he must tender his resignation on moral grounds,’ Gaya town mayor Vibha Devi told the media yesterday on Tuesday, reports gulfnews.com.

BDST: 1954 HRS, JAN 07, 2014
Edited by Robab Rosan, Current Affairs Editor