Bail for Gurung in Dooars case

TT, July 1: Bimal Gurung and four leaders of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha today got interim bail from the Jalpaiguri district and sessions court in a case of violence in the Dooars.

Somnath Pal, the public prosecutor, said on January 16, 2009, the case was registered against Gurung, who is the Morcha chief, party general secretary Roshan Giri, Gurung’s wife and Nari Morcha leader Asha, as well as Ramesh Alley and Binay Tamang.

Charges under sections 120B (criminal conspiracy), 307 (attempt to murder) and 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of duty) of IPC and the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act, 1984, were brought against them and 3,000 supporters of the Morcha, the public prosecutor said.

According to a police source, on January 16, 2009, the Akhil Bharatiya Adivasi Vikas Parishad had called a strike in the Dooars to prevent Morcha supporters from entering the region.

To prevent any clash, the Jalpaiguri district administration had imposed prohibitory orders under section 144 of CrPC.

“Thousands of Morcha supporters, however, violated the order and entered the Dooars from Gorubathan in Kalimpong. This led to a clash between the Morcha workers, Parishad activists and the police. Police vehicles were ransacked, policemen got injured in the clash,” the source said.

“Police had to resort to lathicharge, fire two rounds of rubber bullets and use tear gas. It was in this case that names of the five Morcha leaders were included along with party supporters,” the source added. None of the five was arrested, though.