Top Morcha leader held in POCSO case

SNS, DARJEELING, 3 MARCH 21: Police in Sikkim today arrested top leader of the Gorkha Jan Mukti Morcha (Bimal Gurung faction) Lopsang Lama under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

The former vice-chairman of the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration, Mr Lama was picked up by police in the Namchi, a town in South Sikkim in t he afternoon, sources said.

Mr Lama is also the Principal of New Light Academy, a private school in Namchi town, while a complaint under the Act had been lodged against him earlier. "A case was registered based on the complaint at the Namchi Police Station today under the POCSO Act and relevant sections. He was immediately arrested by Namchi Police and is presently admitted in the District Hospital, Namchi, under police custody due to his health related issues like high blood pressure. The case is under investigation," sources in Namchi said.

When contacted, a DIG in the Sikkim Police, Prawin Gurung, confirmed to reporters that Mr Lama had been arrested and that he was admitted in the hospital.

Mr Lama is the working president of the Gurung faction of the Morcha and he was one of the main faces of the party when Mr Gurung had gone into hiding after the 2017 Gorkhaland agitation in the Hills.

Sources said that Mr Lama was also likely to be chosen as the candidate of the Morcha camp for the Kalimpong constituency for the upcoming Assembly elections.