Shutdowns, rains paralyse Darjeeling

DARJEELING - Life in rain-drenched Darjeeling Hills was Tuesday paralysed following separate shutdowns called by the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) and the Akhil Bharatiya Gorkha League (ABGL).

The protests were planned in connection with the escape of GJM leader Nicole Tamang — the prime accused in the murder case of ABGL chief Madan Tamang — from police custody.

Nicole continued to evade arrest Tuesday, two days after his daring escape.

Meanwhile, shops and markets kept shutters down, offices and commercial establishments were closed and vehicles did not ply in the three Darjeeling Hill sub-divisions - Darjeeling, Kurseong and Kalimpong - as the indefinite shutdown called by the GJM reached its third day.

Besides, the ABGL also called a day’s shutdown that saw even the cinchona plantations and tea gardens close down.

While the GJM has demanded that Nicole be either produced in court or brought before the public, the ABGL has sought his immediate re-arrest.

GJM leaders Tuesday met Darjeeling district Superintendent of Police D.P. Singh to press for their demand and later claimed that he had assured that Nicole will again be caught alive within two days.

Following the assurance, GJM general secretary Roshan Giri and press and publicity secretary Harka Bahadur Chhetri announced their party would relax the shutdown for two days Wednesday and Thursday.

“We will re-start the shutdown if Nicole is not produced in public by that time,” Chhetri said.

In addition to the shutdowns, life was also paralysed due to heavy rains that have lashed the hills since Sunday.

District police sources said 200 tourists were still stranded in the hills.

On the other hand, police continued to raid the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council run guest house in Pintail Village from where Nicole fled early Aug 22.

Special Superintendent of criminal investigation department (CID) N. Parvez, who is probing the incident, said Nicole had agreed to give a confessional statement during his sustained interrogation Aug 14 in the guest house near Siliguri.

“He had agreed to divulge details about the conspiracy to kill Madan Tamang and name all those involved. So, we had decided to keep him at the guest house,” Parvez said.

He also countered the police superintendent’s claim that he was not kept in the loop about Nicole’s whereabouts on that day.

“Nicole was in CID custody. There is no hard and fast rule that the CID has to keep the police posted about the whereabouts of people in its custody,” he said.

Nicole, a GJM central committee member and a close aide of party chief Bimal Gurung, was arrested Aug 15 for his alleged involvement in the May 21 murder of Madan Tamang.

He was subsequently remanded to 12 days’ custody of CID by the Darjeeling chief judicial magistrate’s court.