MAMATA LIKELY TO BAN GLP;GJM CHIEF’S AIDE ARRESTED

Saugar Sengupta, daily pioneer.com, 07 August 2013, Kolkata: Firm on taking Gorkha Janmukti Morcha head on, Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was reportedly proceeding to cut the Hill party’s militant supply line by banning Gorkhaland Personnel or GLP, a youth wing in uniform raised a few years ago by GJM chief Bimal Gurung. 

Another measure of the CM’s “strong action” against the GJM was the arrest of Anit Thapa, a GTA councillor and the “right-hand man of Bimal Gurung.” 

Though the CM would not disclose anything in specific, sources in the Home Ministry said the immediate trigger behind the Government’s plan to ban the GLP was State IB reports suggesting “covert activities” on the part of the organisation. 

GLP was created a few years ago apparently to match the State police force. While its initial strength was about 6,000, its current membership was more than 13,000. 

GLP members comprise a large number of unemployed youth and retired police officials form the backbone of the organisation providing regular training to the rank and file. 

“They have been getting rigorous training much like the armed forces get,” a Home Ministry official quoting the IB said. 

GLP has been the major supply line of the GJM sending trained youth to lead demonstration and even manage large crowds, officials said. 

When asked as to whether she had information about the GLP activities, the Chief Minister on Monday replied in the affirmative saying “yes I know and would speak at the appropriate time and place and manner.” 

As a mark of her hardening stance vis-a-vis the GJM-GLP brass, the police have arrested 35 of their members on various criminal charges. 

While 19 GLP members were earlier arrested for setting a forest bungalow on fire, 16 were held on Tuesday for gheraoing Kurseong police station and the DM’s office in Darjeeling. 

Sources said Thapa had been coordinating between GLP and the GJM and is the man credited with mobilisation of such a huge army of youth. 

Meanwhile, the State Government on Tuesday transferred the District Magistrate of Darjeeling S Mohan replacing him by a Joint Secretary of the Home Department P Yadav, sources said.