Non-violence song on Morcha lips

Vivek Chhetri, TT, Darjeeling, Nov. 12: The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha today said the party didn't "believe in violence" and followed Gandhian principles at a time police were looking for GTA Sabha member Sanjay Thulung in connection with the seizure of a cache of arms and ammunition in Assam.

The party has not commented on Thulung's alleged involvement in the arms recovery or the Assam police sources' claim that Umesh Kami, one of the two arrested men in the case, was a volunteer of Gorkhaland Personnel, a voluntary force of the Morcha.

The party has decided to form a five-member committee to independently "find out the truth".

Following a central committee meeting in Darjeeling today, Morcha general secretary Roshan Giri said: "This incident has happened suddenly. We do not have the details. In order to find out the truth, we have formed a five-member committee."

Giri, however, refused to divulge the names of the members of the committee.

He said the Morcha didn't believe in violence and followed Gandhian principles.

"Since October 7, 2007, when the party was formed, we have believed in a democratic movement on the lines of Gandhian principles. We do not believe in violence."

In an effort to drive home his point, Giri said: "Nowadays, we are even against bandhs. Other districts in north Bengal are observing a strike today. We are not even calling strikes in Darjeeling. The Morcha is concentrating only on Delhi-centric democratic agitation and that is why we have called a peaceful three-day dharna in the capital from December 18."

In the hills, the Morcha-backed Darjeeling Terai Dooars Plantation Labour Union backed a tea garden-centric 12-hour strike, not a general strike as in the Dooars.

The Morcha's labour wing cited ongoing school annual examinations in the hills to stay out of the general strike.

In another development, a CID team from Bengal today left for Assam to interrogate Kami and Ganesh Chhetri, the other accused in the arms haul case who is from Assam. Kami hails from Birpara in Alipurduar.

Akhilesh Kumar Chaturvedi, the Darjeeling superintendent of police, said: "We had raided the house of Sanjay Thulung based on inputs from Assam. He is still untraceable."

Intelligence sources in Assam had claimed yesterday that Kami had told his interrogators the arms were meant for GTA member Thulung. The police had raided Thulung's house on Sunday.

Chaturvedi said: "We are getting inputs but we need to know more for further action."

Nepali academy

GTA Sabha chief executive Bimal Gurung will lay the foundation stone of a Nepali academy and cultural research centre at Dali near Darjeeling on November 14. The centre is being built at a cost of Rs 23 crore.