GJM to protest Manipur rape, killing... Political parties and others condemn Teesta rape case.

EOI, 21 Apr 2014, Darjeeling: The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha will stage dharnas in the three Hills sub-divisions to protest and condemn the rape of a minor girl and killing of two Gorkhas in a police firing in Manipur. The dharnas will take place on April 24 according to GJM general secretary Roshan Giri. “Rape of a minor girl is a heinous crime and must be dealt with sternly. We demand a high level judicial probe in this matter. To condemn the crimes, we will stage dharnas in Darjeeling, Kalimpong, and Kurseong on April 24 in front of the respective SDO offices,” Giri said.

On April 17, a thirteen year old Gorkha girl was allegedly raped by a seventy-four years old man in the Payomai Colony in Imphal. The incident created uproar among the Gorkha community who took to the streets in protest. This led to a clash between the agitators and police. In the melee, the police opened fire to disperse the crowd killing two Gorkhas and injured few others.

“Our sympathy is with the family of the rape victim and those killed in the police firing. We may stay far away, but nonetheless we are from the same community. The safety of our Gorkha brothers and sisters across India is of utmost importance for us,” Giri emphasised.

GJM president Bimal Gurung has demanded the accused be tried in a fast-track court for a speedy justice to the rape victim. “I request the Manipur government to prioritize and provide justice to the minor girl and also the two Gorkhas killed in the police firing. The rape accused must be tried in the fast-track court and given the most stringent punishment,” he demanded. The GJM leader said he would also write to the central government on this issue for its intervention to ensure safety of Gorkha residing in other parts of the country.

The Communist Party of Revolutionary Marxist too condemned the rape of the minor girl and the killing of the two Gorkahs. “We (Gorkhas) are the victims of such incidents all the time. It is for this reason that the issue of our identity and security crops up. Our daughters and sisters are not safe and being the citizens of the country we demand the Union government to take necessary steps,” said Govind Chhetri, the CPRM spokesperson.

Other political parties of the Hills have also condemned the two incidents and have demanded Manipur government take necessary measures to ensure the safety of the Gorkha community residing there.

KalimNews: Meanwhile DDUDF and women's wing of Hill TMC and GJM also condemned the rape of innocent girls of both the incidents of Teesta and Manipur. A spokesperson of DDUDF stated that it has written to the National Commission for Women, Delhi and the Commissioner, Manipur State Human Rights Commission, demanding speedy judiciary inquiry and those responsible for both the incidents be punished and justice be provided to the victims.

BGP in Kalimpong also had convened a joint meeting inviting all the NGOs and submitted a memorandum to the SDO Kalimpong demanding justice and inquiry on the incident of Teesta. Organisations like BSA, HSWS, KKKS, DNS, KCC, AIWC and others participated in the meeting and declared their solidarity demanding justice for the 3 year old minor girl who was brutally raped by Sunil Rai of Kalimpong at Gaphur Village in Teesta. Later Rai was arrested by the police after the protest by local people of Teesta.