Plains body demands cop shift

Siliguri, April 7: Jana Jagaran today accused police of playing a partisan role during yesterday’s clash with the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha and asked the Malbazar SDO to transfer within a week two of the police officer.

Morcha leaders, too, have told the district magistrate to take steps against those who had attacked their supporters and also to ban Jana Jagaran and Amra Bangali, two anti-Gorkhaland forums in the plains, for trying to breach the harmony.

Yesterday, supporters of the Morcha and Jana Jagaran clashed at Malbazar after members of the plains outfit protested the pro-Gorkhaland slogans of the hill party. Around 300 Morcha supporters took shelter at the local police station and after five hours were escorted out to Kalimpong.

“Many residents of Malbazar have seen the biased attitude of the police including the officer-in-charge yesterday. We have been repeatedly insisting that the Morcha supporters should be frisked inside the police station as they were wielding firearms and sharp weapons in public,” said Avik Choudhury, the joint secretary of Jana Jagaran. “But instead, the police misbehaved with us and chased us with batons.”

Choudhury, who submitted a memorandum to subdivisional officer Nilkamal Biswas, said his outfit wanted the transfer of the officer in charge of Malbazar and the subdivisional police officer within a week as “they have acted in a biased manner”.

The Morcha leaders sent a memorandum to Jalpaiguri district magistrate Vandana Yadav. “We want steps against the attackers and a ban on Jana Jagaran and Amra Bangali which are trying to breach the harmony across the Dooars,” said Samuel Gurung, a central committee member of the Morcha.

Jalpaiguri police chief Anand Kumar said: “Three cases were registered in connection with yesterday’s clash and probe is on.”

Source: The Telegraph