High Court asks CBI to include name of Bimal Gurung in Madan Tamang murder case chargesheet

EOI & PTI, DARJEELING, JUNE 13, 2024 : The Calcutta High Court on Thursday set aside the discharge order of the City Sessions Court given to Bimal Gurung in 2017 in connection with the Madan Tamang murder case.

The City Sessions Court order removed the name of Bimal Gurung from the list of accused persons. Tamang, who headed the All India Gorkha League was hacked to death in broad daylight on May 21, 2010 near the Upper Clubside area while overseeing preparation for a public meeting. 

Along with Gurung who is the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha president 53 others had been named as accused in the CBI charge sheet. 

Initially, the CID was investigating the case but in late2010, Tamang's wife Bharati filed a petition demanding a CBI probe. The CBI filed a chargesheet against the 54 accused, including Gurung his wife Asha and other senior GJM leaders. However, in August 2017,the City Sessions Court in Kolkata discharged Gurung from the CBI chargesheet list of accused in the murder case. 

Bharati and the CBI filed a revision writ petition in Kolkata High Court, challenging the verdict. The court of Justice Subhendu Samanta on Thursday set aside the verdict of the City Sessions Court, paving the way for a criminal revision on Gurung." 

Now he (Gurung) will again have to stand trial as an accused in the Tamang murder case. After the 2017 verdict, except Gurung, all others were appearing trial in the court," said a source. 

Amar Lama who is the brother of the deceased and was pursuing the case regularly said: "With the verdict of the HC today, now the way is open for Gurung's trial". 

Incidentally, Hamro Party leader Ajoy Edwards has offered Bharati to pursue the murder case of the slain AIGL leader.

PTI, Kolkata, Jun 13, 2024 :  The Calcutta High Court on Thursday directed the CBI to include the name of Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) supremo Bimal Gurung in the charge sheet in the murder case of Akhil Bharatiya Gorkha League (ABGL) chief Madan Tamang in 2010.

    A Kolkata court in 2017 removed the name of Gurung from the list of the accused persons. Tamang's wife Bharti challenged the order in the high court.

    Tamang was hacked to death in Darjeeling on May 21, 2010 in broad daylight when he was overseeing preparations for a public meeting.

    Stating that the City Sessions court judge committed an error by separating Gurung from the other accused person, Justice Subhendu Samanta of the high court directed the CBI probing the murder case to include Gurung’s name in the charge sheet.

    "Complicity against Bimal Gurung has been sufficiently established,” Justice Samanta said in his order.

    Gurung’s counsel had argued before the City Sessions Court that his client was in Kalimpong the day Tamang was murdered, and that the CBI had no proof against him.

    “The charge of this case is required to be framed against Bimal Gurung with other accused persons. The alleged portion of the impugned order passed by the Learned Chief Judge of City Sessions Court through which Bimal Gurung was discharged from this case is hereby set aside," the order read.

    Bimal Gurung, his wife Asha and several other senior leaders of the GJM had surrendered before a sessions court in Kolkata on December 21, 2016, in connection with the murder case. They were granted bail by the court.