Claim of bomb unit at Morcha leader home - Hunt for source of explosives used in recent blasts outside police stations in hills

Weapons, mobile phones and other items found at the workshop in Dabaipani village in Darjeeling. Picture by Passang Yolmo

TT, Calcutta, Sept. 4: Darjeeling police today claimed to have busted a bomb-making workshop in the house of a youth leader of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha.

The claim assumes significance against the backdrop of repeated attacks on police stations and outposts in the hills. Sources in the police said the explosives used in the attacks could have been sourced from the workshop at Dabaipani village in Lebong.

Akhilesh Chaturvedi, the superintendent of police in Darjeeling, said a team had cordoned off the village last night after receiving a specific tip-off that bombs were being made in a house there.

The raid started early this morning.

"We started the raid in the morning and it continued till this afternoon. We have recovered gel powder, explosives, detonators and shrapnel. It seemed to be a workshop where IEDs were being made," said Chaturvedi.

According to the police, prima facie evidence suggests that the building that houses the workshop belongs to Puran Tamang, the Morcha youth president of Lebong-Badamtam area.

The police said there were similar workshops that operated from the houses of Shekar Rai, Prabhakar Rai, Bhaskar Rai and Diwakar Rai, all believed to be Morcha cadres.

The Morcha denied any role in the recent blasts or that the houses belonged to any of its members.

"Looking at the recovery today, we believe that the explosives used in the recent blasts could have been made here. But this has to be verified by forensic experts," Chaturvedi said.

On June 22, the police had received information that more than 300kg of explosive substance had been stolen from the godown of a power plant at Negi in Bijanbari.

The police today arrested Rajani Rai, 28, the wife of Shekar Rai, but the other suspected Morcha cadres named in the case escaped.

"They fled with many other items, including one IED that was ready. We are on the lookout," the district police chief said.

The investigators could not confirm if the explosives from the workshops were being supplied to other parts of the hills.

"We have information about some modules being active in different parts of the hills. We are keeping tabs and we expect to bust these modules soon," Chaturvedi said.

The police did not rule out the possibility of Morcha cadres being allegedly trained by banned terror outfits in the Northeast.

"There is information that some Morcha leaders and cadres received training in the northeastern states. They are probably involved in running the modules," the officer said.

Apart from the 393 grams of explosives, the police said they had recovered three live .303 rifle bullets and three bullet heads of 9mm pistol from the workshop.

The police alleged that the Morcha ran several such explosive units.

"Puran Tamang is the Yuva Morcha president of the area and Bhaskar Rai appears to be a ground-level leader. A register detailing the party's activities have also been recovered," said Chaturvedi.

Prakash Gurung, the president of the Yuva Morcha, denied the involvement of the party.

"We have condemned the blasts as we believe in a democratic agitation and will stick to it. The police should investigate the matter and book those who are guilty. They should also keep a strict vigil on power stations that store explosives and stop blaming us to cover their failure," said Prakash Gurung.

Prakash, along with Morcha chief Bimal Gurung and other party leaders, have been booked under provisions of the UAPA Act following the recent blasts in Darjeeling and other places in the hills.