Bandi Mukti Committee members to meet families of held GJMM leaders

Siliguri, 17 September: The members of Bandi Mukti Committee would visit the Hills to meet the family members of the Gorkha Jan Mukti Morcha (GJMM) leaders and activists, who are now lodged in different correctional homes. The committee is likely to visit Kalimpong on 18 September and Darjeeling on 19 September. They have demanded their release and withdrawal of the Central forces now deployed in the Hills immediately.
"The maximum number of political prisoners is from the three Hill sub-divisions ~ Kurseong, Kalimpong and Darjeeling ~ in the state. Over 1,000 people have been arrested so far and the spree is continuing. This is condemnable. Since it is a political issue it should be dealt on the political plane, instead of the administrative one. A dialogue is what is needed and the release of the arrested and withdrawal of the Central forces would go a long way in defusing tension and creating a congenial ambience for talks. The Bandi Mukti Committee would meet the family members of the victims, and this aside, we would also try to meet the prisoners at the correctional homes,” said the general secretary of the committee, Mr Choton Das.The committee’s Darjeeling district vice president, Mr Abhijit Majumdar, said the state government has opted for a crack-down to repress the movement.(SNS)