Morcha double case blow to Tamang - Court asks cops to treat probe request as an FIR Rs 1 crore suit against ABGL chief

Darjeeling, Nov. 12: The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha has filed a Rs 1-crore defamation suit against Madan Tamang and has submitted a plea in court, asking for a probe into the alleged misuse of funds by the ABGL president.

The lawyer representing the Morcha, Taranga Pandit, said the chief judicial magistrate, in whose court the plea was admitted, has directed the inspector of Sadar police station to treat the complaint as an FIR and to report the findings by November 29.

The defamation suit has been filed in the court of civil judge (senior division). Both the cases were filed by Roshan Giri, the general secretary of the Morcha.

In the defamation suit, Giri claimed that Tamang, who “lost his political image amongst the masses after the emergence of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha, has started a war of vilification”.

As an example, the suit cited Tamang’s allegation that the Morcha had relaxed its movement after a “secret meeting” in Takdah with the state home secretary.

The meeting, according to Tamang, had been held on October 11 following which the Morcha announced that it would not force vehicles to use “GL” number plates in the hills and stop wiping out “West Bengal” from government signboards.

The Morcha had said the relaxations were made after governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi requested them to ensure a congenial atmosphere before the second round of tripartite talks were held in Delhi in November.

Morcha chief Bimal Gurung had asked Tamang to prove within November 7 his allegation and to provide the number of the Sikkim registered vehicle that were allegedly used by his party members to go to Takdah.

“The statements and utterances by the defendant (Tamang) were made in bad faith and without any bona fide and with malice, enmity and is reckless without due care and attention fully well that the same were without basis whatsoever,” the complaint reads.

Apart from the value of the suit (Rs 1 crore), the plaintiff has asked for “a permanent mandatory injunction restraining the defendant either by himself or through his agents or employees for verbal utterances and written statement with intent to defame (Giri and Morcha leaders)” besides the legal expenses.

“The suit has been accepted and the next date of hearing has been fixed on November 17,” Pandit said.

In the second case, Giri has accused Tamang of collecting donations in 2006 on the pretext of fighting in court the scam and corruption in the Sarva Siksha Abhiyan (SSA).

“I had donated a sum of Rs 100 (receipt number 1233),” said Giri.

When the SSA scam of about Rs 5.15 crore became public, the People’s Democratic Front, whose chairman was Madan Tamang, had collected money for an anti-corruption fund to file cases. Tamang, who admitted that the PIL could not be filed because no individuals had dared come forward, said he had the details of expenses incurred in consulting lawyers and was willing to make them public.

Today, the ABGL chief welcomed the Morcha decision to move court. “This is the way to go about in a democratic process. Threats and ultimatum are not part of democracy but this (filing of cases) is. If I file similar cases, they too, should not feel bad,” said Tamang.