Giving a sharp twist to the ongoing Darjeeling crisis a terror outfit called Gorkhaland liberation Army has queered the pitch claiming responsibility of the series of blasts in the Hills.
latest such blast took place at Mirik a tourist town leading to the sudden closure of markets which had started to open in the past few days defying GJM chief Bimal Gurung’s orders. Gurung was currently at large after the police slapped charges against him under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act.
A GlA poster at Mirik market claimed the responsibility of the blasts and warned outfits like TMC, GNlF, JAP and individuals against making any attempt to sabotage the cause of a separate State of Gorkhaland.
At least a dozen IED blasts and grenade attacks had taken place at various places in Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Mirik in the past more than a week.
Curiously Gurung had appealed to two senior expelled members of his party in a language not very dissimilar to GlA when he told Benay Tamang and Anik Thapa in an audio taped message to return to the party fold by making correction in their stances as the police would not protect them for eternity.
Tamang had earlier suspended the 82-day-strike in Darjeeling for 12 days following a dialogue with the State Government in Kolkata. He was to attend a second round of talk on September 12 on September 12 at Siliguri. However Gurung rejected his stand and expelled him from the party leading to a vertical division in the Hill outfit.
Meanwhile in what the police called a “suspicious coincidence,” with GlA posters claiming the responsibility of the blasts appeared a fresh Gurung message on Thursday denying his hands in the explosions that have killed two persons.
With Gurung allegedly hiding in Sikkim and reportedly trying to slip out to Delhi to hold talks with the Centre before lifting the strike and gain back the control of the Hill politics from the hands of Benay Tamang whose men had for the past a few days organizing rallies at several places a team of senior GJM leaders on Thursday left for the Capital to find out a way to end the stalemate sources said.