Gurung, Giri give Hills a miss; cops nab two Bimal faction members
Darjeeling: Bimal Gurung and Roshan Giri finally decided to give the Hills a miss, fearing arrest. Meanwhile, two members from the Bimal camp who had arrived from Delhi, were picked up by the police at Bagdogra Airport.
Speculations were rife in the Hills that Gurung would try to stage a comeback using the Supreme Court order as a shield. The Supreme Court on Wednesday had ordered Gurung and others to file a petition at the Calcutta High Court in the next four days and stated that no coercive action should be taken against them till then.
Giri claimed in a social media message on Thursday morning that they were returning home at 2pm. He also asked supporters to be present at Bagdogra Airport.
With news of Gurung's plans to return, police presence was beefed up. Top cops of Darjeeling Police and Siliguri Metropolitan Police were present at Bagdogra.
According to information, Gurung and 8 others were booked in two flights. The list included Roshan Giri, Anmol Thapa, Nima Tamang, Sanjit Subedi, Phup Namgyal Bhutia, Yogendra Pradhan, Bidraman Golay and Bal Krishna Thapa.
The AirAsia flight landed at around 12:30 pm in Bagdogra, but Gurung and his men were not there. In the meantime, posters were put up in Darjeeling by the Yuva Morcha, threatening to stop Gurung from returning to the Hills.
Tshering Dahal, president, Gorkha Janmukti Nari Morcha, said: "While people were suffering in the Hills during the strife in 2017, Gurung and his men were enjoying in Delhi. Now that it is peaceful
and normalcy has returned, he is trying to disturb the peace and tranquility. We will not allow him to do that."
The IndiGo flight landed at around 2:20 pm. Though Gurung and Giri were not there, Yogendra Pradhan along with one Rohan Rai of the Bimal camp arrived in that flight. The duo was immediately nabbed by the waiting police and taken to Phansidewa police station. They have been detained.
B P Bajgain, spokesperson, GJM (Bimal faction) in a press conference in Siliguri remarked that Gurung and the others were all set to arrive in Bagdogra and then would file a petition in the Circuit Bench of the Calcutta High Court in Jalpaiguri.
"However, we got inputs that there could be clashes in the Hills. In order to maintain peace and tranquility we asked him not to come. Our party does not believe in violence and hence it was cancelled," claimed Bajgain. The spokesperson further said that legal experts are being consulted to decide on the future course of action.
Meanwhile Binoy Tamang, president, GJM, said: "Their return will in no way affect us politically as the public will not accept them now."
Goutam Deb, president, TMC district committee, Darjeeling, stated that the BJP is trying to create unrest and strife in the Hills, using Gurung.
