GTA member in judicial remand

Photo: Amitava Banerjee

Vivek Chhetri, TT, Darjeeling, July 1: GTA Sabha member Kaziman Lohagun, arrested in connection with the Jamuni land case, was remanded in 14 days’ judicial custody.

The GTA member of Bijanbari-Pulbazar had been arrested on June 27 for allegedly supplying weapons to six persons who had threatened a farmer who refused to part with his land for a tourism project at Jamuni.

Pankaj Prasad, the assistant public prosecutor, today said: “Biplab Roy, the chief judicial magistrate of Darjeeling, has sent Kaziman Lohagun to 14 days of judicial custody. Police have recovered ammunition from him when he was in their custody.”

Prasad did not elaborate on the ammunition, but Taranga Pandit, the defence lawyer, said the police claimed that they had found one .303 live cartridge in the bedroom of Lohagun’s residence at Kerabari, near Jamuni, 20km from here.

The six men who had allegedly threatened Manilal Tamang had also been arrested. The police claimed that an improvised weapon, a khukuri and a rod had been seized from the six.

In April, nine landowners had complained to the Darjeeling district magistrate, saying the GTA had forcibly occupied 13 acres in 2011 to develop it as a tourist spot but it had not paid them compensation.

One of the nine landowners is Manilal whose family has eight acres.