GJMM attacked, vandalised office by TMC activists in Mungpo

GJM man adip tamang asaulted badly  and his leg has broken in TMC attack

The first major incident of post-poll violence in the Darjeeling hills has come from Mungpoo, some 35km from Darjeeling town, where a Gorkha Janmukti Morcha activist was allegedly assaulted by Trinamool Congress cadres and the party office vandalised.

“Several TMC activists armed with khukuris and rods barged into our party office this morning and started assaulting our party men without any provocation. One of our members, Adip Tamang, was badly assaulted and his leg has broken,” he alleged.
According to another GJM cadre named Kewal Thakuri, who managed to flee from spot, the TMC cadres came in vehicles armed with weapons.
“The TMC goons came armed with weapons in three vehicles and attacked our party office. Adip was thrashed badly, but I somehow managed to escape and save myself even though some TMC cadres continued chasing me with khukuris and rods. They took away Rs2 lakh from the office include my wallet and vehicle documents,” claimed Thakuri.
An FIR has been lodged against TMC Cinchona Plantation zonal committee secretary Miren Lama and five others at the Mungpo police outpost.
“We have filed a complaint against six TMC activists including their zonal committee general secretary. The remaining five are KS Chhetri, Pawan Bal, Suraj Thapa, Yadip Gurung and Neelkamal Gurung. We want all the accused arrested immediately,” said Thapa.
Following the incident, the business fraternity of town pulled down their shutters for the day apprehending a fierce clash between the two sides. GJM supporters also gheroaed the police outpost and shouted slogans demanding the arrest of the six TMC activists.
The district administration deployed a huge police force in and around the town area to avert further disturbances while the whole of Mungpoo remained tense throughout the day.
“We have started an investigation into the incident after an FIR was lodged at the Mungpoo police outpost. No arrests have been made yet. Two political parties reportedly clashed in the morning, but the situation is normal now and security forces have been deployed to stop further trouble,” said Darjeeling SP Akhilesh Chaturvedi.
However, TMC leaders refuted and countered the allegation saying it was the GJM cadres who first provoked them.
“Our party men did not have any hand in this morning’s incident in Mungpo. The GJM’s allegation is false and fabricated. Instead, GJM supporters burnt our party flags last night and intimidated our members,” alleged TMC hill general secretary NB Khawas, when contacted for his comments. (EOIC)