Bimal Gurung was seen in a car outside Gorkha Bhavan guest house in Salt Lake, sources said
New Delhi:
Bimal Gurung, the leader of the statehood movement for Gorkhas in Bengal’s Darjeeling area and wanted by the police for the last three years, surfaced in Kolkata today and met the media. “I am not a criminal, I am not an anti-national. I am a political leader. I want a political settlement to our political demand,” he said at the press conference.
The chief of Gorkha Janmukti Morcha — the organisation spearheading the Gorkhaland movement — Bimal Gurung had gone underground in September 2017 after a policeman was killed in a clash allegedly with his supporters.
He was charged under the tough anti-terror law UAPA and the Bengal police issued a lookout notice for him.
Sources said the 56-year-old was seen earlier today outside the Gorkha Bhavan guest house in Salt Lake in the outskirts of Kolkata. After sitting in a car for 30 minutes, he left when the gates of the building did not open. Though the local police were on the spot, no arrest was made.
Bimal Gurung’s surfacing in Kolkata today since the huge unrest in the hill area three years ago, could indicate a twist in politics over Darjeeling, which is represented in parliament by a BJP leader, Raju Bishta.
Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has backed Bimal Gurung’s rival within the GJM organization — Benoy Tamang.
Benoy Tamang heads the administration in Darjeeling at the moment. He also heads another branch of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha, which has stepped down from the Gorkhaland demand.
