Binay’s jail fast

TT; Jalpaiguri, Oct. 30: Arrested Gorkha Janmukti Morcha leader Binay Tamang began an indefinite hunger strike in a Jalpaiguri jail today to protest his imprisonment on alleged trumped up charges. Darjeeling Morcha MLA Trilok Dewan, who called on Tamang in his cell 1/8, said the fast was the GTA member’s “personal decision”. Tamang was arrested by Kalimpong police in Gangtok on August 22 for allegedly burning down a forest bungalow in Darjeeling’s Takdah.

 The bungalow was torched on the night of August 1 during the Morcha’s renewed agitation for statehood. Seshamani Gurung, one of the lawyers appearing for Tamang, said the GTA leader had 18 cases against him and was granted bail in 15 of them. Another counsel for Tamang, Swarup Mondal, said: “My client has been implicated in false cases. The cases are not being disposed of speedily. He has begun an indefinite hunger strike demanding speedy decision on the cases.” Dewan said he was visiting different prisons to enquire about the well-being of arrested Morcha leaders and supporters. 

 “Ten GTA Sabha members and over 1,800 workers of the Morcha are languishing in jails in Darjeeling, Siliguri, Kurseong and Jalpaiguri. I am visiting jails to inquire about their health. I spoke to Binay Tamang today. His decision to sit on an indefinite hunger strike is entirely personal and has nothing to do with our party,” he said. GTA Sabha member Kalyan Dewan and a Morcha central committee member, Ashok Lama, are also lodged in the Jalpaiguri correctional home.

 Madhusudhan Karmakar, the superintendent of the jail, confirmed that Tamang had started an indefinite fast. “Binay Tamang was brought here on August 26 and he has declared an indefinite hunger-strike, that is all I can say,” he said. Lawyer Gurung said Tamang was yet to get bail in three cases, handled by Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Jalpaiguri courts. “In Darjeeling, he faces an attempt to murder case filed in 2010 by a guard of slain ABGL leader Madan Tamang.

 Apart from that, the GTA member hasn’t received bail in connection with a case of arson in Gorubathan (Kalimpong subdivision). The third case is related to the obstruction of officials on duty at Sibchu, a day before three Morcha members were killed in a police firing there,” the lawyer said.