Defection weakens Gurung grip in Hills

TNN, Oct 7, 2017, DARJEELING: The Hills witnessed the winds of change on Friday with 16 out of 20 councillors of Kurseong Municipality swearing by rebel GJM leader and Gorkha Territorial Administration (GTA) chairman Binay Tamang and his colleague Anit Thapa, sending out signals that Kurseong, after Mirik, is slipping out of Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) president Bimal Gurung's grip. Gurung loyalists, on the other hand, took the Jangalmahal route out of desperation and dug up roads at three places in Darjeeling to stop police movement.

Darjeeling police complained that GJM cadres dug up roads leading to Malidhura and surrounding areas prodded by the GJM president, now in hiding. GJM organisers feared fresh police action against them. Party president Bimal Gurung and youth president Prakash Gurung are among the prime accused. "It (digging the road) was properly organized and executed. The motive is to create disturbances in the movement of police force in and around the area. We have not been able to reach the lower areas of Malidhura because of the huge trench on the road," said additional SP K Amarnath.

The GJM president has refuted all the charges. "It is a conspiracy hatched by Trinamool and others against me. My personal vehicle was burnt on the main road in Darjeeling and police blamed me. Can anyone burn or damage his own property?" Gurung said from an undisclosed location.Police said Gurung loyalists dug up roads at at least three places in Malidhura -a Gurung stronghold that's around 12 km from Darjeeling town. The first site is around 150 metres below Kanchanjunga Public School, where security forces have set up camps. While another stretch has been damaged 200 metres away, the third road was damaged at Lepcha Busty. "It was part of a GJM tactic to prevent police from conducting raids in Patlebas, Malidhura, Tukvar, Singla and Badamtam," said police.

Amarnath said police had information about the involvement of GJM president and party activists from Vah Tukvar and Tukvar fourth division.

The GJM move has snapped connectivity with neighbouring villages and tea gardens like Vah Tukvar, Tukvar and Bijenbari and also Jorethang in Sikkim. "Vehicles, including ambulances, can't reach Darjeeling town. The alternative Soom tea garden route was also damaged after a landslide in July," police said.

Police, on the other hand, arrested two persons -Chandan Subba (29) and Santay Gurung (42) -from Rishihat tea estate in connection with the assault on state BJP president Dilip Ghosh in Darjeeling. A Darjeeling court, though, granted them bail on Friday.