Darjeeling administration seals GJM central office in Singhmari, police say party encroached on govt property

Darjeeling: The police on Tuesday sealed the head office of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha at Singhmari, a stronghold of GJM supremo Bimal Gurung, a senior official said. The Singhmari office, located close to Gurung’s residence at Patlebas, was where protesters and security forces clashed on several occasions during the GJM-led 104-day long agitation in the Darjeeling hills. During the heydays of Gurung, it was seen as the nerve centre of the hills. [caption id=“attachment_4188153” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File image of GJM chief Bimal Gurung. Getty Images[/caption] “We have sealed the head office of the GJM at Singhmari under the instructions of the district magistrate. The land on which the office has been constructed is government land. The land had been illegally encroached upon by the GJM as per records. So we sealed the office,” Darjeeling police superintendent Akhilesh Chaturvedi said. Gurung has been on the run since August after the West Bengal government lodged cases against him under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act for his alleged involvement in several bomb blasts in Darjeeling and adjoining areas. An FIR was also lodged against Gurung for his alleged involvement in the death of a sub-inspector who the police said was killed during an ambush by Gurung’s supporters on 13 October. Meanwhile, three people were arrested by the police from the Bijanbari Bazaar area of Darjeeling on Tuesday night for alleged involvement in the violence and arson that took place during the shutdown over the demand for a separate Gorkhaland state.