The hills on Friday were once again on the boil following the brutal assassination of Gorkha leader and Akhil Bharatiya Gorkha League president Madan Tamang. He was killed, allegedly by Gorkha Janamukti Morcha (GJM) supporters, in Darjeeling. The murder has resulted in enormous tension in all three sub-divisions — Darjeeling,
Kalimpong and Kurseong. A bandh has been announced in the region. Buses and cars went off the streets and shops, markets and educational institutions downed shutters.
Tamang was a senior Gorkha leader opposed to the GJM’s “undemocratic policies” and had also accused them of corruption. He had floated the six-party Democratic Front. Tamang was supervising preparations for a public rally at the Planters’ Club near Chowk Bazaar in Darjeeling when an armed group of assailants suddenly attacked him.
IGP (North Bengal) K.L. Tamta said the attack occurred around 9.15 am. “The assailants attacked him with khukris and swords, wounding him in the shoulder and stomach,” he added. Tamang, critically injured, died in the Darjeeling District Hospital.
The GJM denied involvement in Tamang’s assassination. “It is a totally baseless and fabricated allegation. Ours is a democratic and peaceful movement...” GJM general secretary Roshan Giri said.
He, however, admitted the GJM had serious differences with the Gorkha League.