In a major development that could have long term political ramifications in North Bengal CBI on Friday filed chargesheet against top Gorkha Janmukti Morcha leaders implicating them in the high-profile Madan Tamang murder case. Tamang a moderate leader was the president of All India Gorkha league then the second largest party in Darjeeling.
The chargesheet filed in the City Sessions Court court includes the names of party chief Bimal Gurung, his wife Asha Gurung, GJM second in command Roshan Giri, party MlA and ideologue Harka Bahadur Chhetri. Gorkhaland Territorial Administration Chairman Pradip Pradhan has also been named in the chargesheet.
“In all 14 people have been named in the final chargesheet,” said CBI sources adding the accused have been booked under IPC offences including criminal conspiracy, murder, rioting, assembling with deadly weapons. GJM which runs the GTA has huge following not only in the Hills but also in a number of MlA constituencies in the Terrain-Dooars area. The investigating agency also chargesheeted senior GJM leaders like Benoy Tamang, Ramesh Alley, Dinesh Singh and Devendra Sharma, CBI sources said adding it was a difficult case as all those named in the final chargesheet were influential persons.
Tamang was hacked with Khukri in broad day light on May 21, 2010 moments before he was to address a public rally at Chowrasta in Darjeeling. He succumbed to his injuries hours later. Gurung and his party GJM had displaced veteran GNlF chief Bimal Gurjung from Hill politics before stepping into his shoes. “It is difficult for us to understand why we were chargesheeted by the CBI as we had fully cooperated in the investigations” Chhetri said while Trinamool and Congress leaders like Shankar Malakar said “the Hill people will be relieved with the results of the investigation.”