Blasts in Darj, Kalimpong, UAPA against GJM chief
Gorkha Janamukti Morcha (GJM) chief Bimal Gurung has been booked under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) in connection with a grenade blast at the Kalimpong police station and an explosion in Darjeeling town.
The GJM is spearheading the agitation in the Hills of Bengal demanding a separate state of Gorkhaland. On Saturday night, a hand grenade was hurled at the Kalimpong police station at around 11 pm, killing a civic volunteer and injuring two others.
Initial probe has revealed that bike-borne miscreants had hurled the grenade at the police station, the police said, adding that they were going through the CCTV footage to get more clues.
In another incident, a highintensity explosion rocked the Chowkbazar area of Darjeeling town in the early hours Of Saturday.
Following the violent incidents, GJM chief Bimal Gurung and others have been slapped charges under UAPA, additional director-general of police (law and order) Anuj Sharma said.
Meanwhile, a Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) office was set on fire allegedly by Gorkhaland supporters at Kalimpong on Saturday night.
The situation in Darjeeling remained tense as the indefinite strike called by the GJM, demanding a separate state of Gorkhaland, entered its 67th day on Sunday.
The grenade attack on the Kalimpong police station and the blast in Darjeeling town were the first such incidents since the indefinite strike began over two months ago. “We are monitoring each and every entry and exit point. A forensic team will visit the police station,” a senior police officer said.
The GJM leadership, however, condemned the attack After Saturday’s blast at Chowkbazar, Gurung had written a letter to Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh demanding a high-level inuiry by the National Investigation Agency into it. — PTI