Court grants some hill leaders 'anticipatory bail'... Gurung, Giri plea hearing tentatively in mid-July

SNS, Siliguri, 28 June 2019: The Circuit Bench of the Calcutta High Court in Jalpaiguri has granted 'anticipatory bail' to several Hill leaders who were tagged in various police cases related to the 2017 Gorkhaland agitation in the Hills. However, the bail pleas of fugitive Gorkha Jan Mukti Morcha (GJMM) leaders Bimal Gurung and Roshan Giri have been fixed for hearing in the "next circuit," tentatively in the second week of July, along with the issue of preliminary objection raised by the state to be decided on affidavits, sources said today.

Prominent among those who were granted anticipatory bail in different cases include senior Morcha leaders RP Waiba, Urmila Rumba, Kalyan Dewan, Shankar Adhikari, Gopal Ruchal, and Samuel Gurung. Others whose 'anticipatory bail' applications were granted include senior leader of the Gorkha National Liberation Front, PC Agarwal, Bhupendra Gurung and five others. It may be mentioned here that while Mr Waiba is still in custody after he was granted bail by a court in Darjeeling recently, but tagged in another case, the other leaders who were given the ' anticipatory bail' have not been arrested yet.

"Anjali Sharma Bhujel and Binita Lepcha of the GSSS (Gorkhaland Sanyukta Sangharsh Samiti, an apolitical organisation) who were implicated in an incident in Delhi through an FIR filed in the Darjeeling Sadar police station, have also been granted anticipatory bail in the said case," an advocate representing the petitioners, Urgen Lama, said. He was referring to the incident in Delhi in February this year when members of the GSSS held protests during the visit of Morcha leader Binoy Tamang to the national capital.  The Tamang camp accused the GSSS members of manhandling some officials of the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA).

According to Mr Lama, today was the last day of the present 'circuit' and that the next 'circuit' has been slated for July.