RSP leader assaulted, finger at Morcha

OUR CORRESPONDENT

Alipurduar, April 6: A youth leader of the RSP was thrashed and his wife and sister were shoved around by a group of alleged Gorkha Janmukti Morcha members in Chinchula tea garden last night. Gopal Pradhan, the secretary of the Revolutionary Youth Federation’s Chinchula unit, was admitted to Alipurduar hospital and an FIR was filed against five Morcha activists. The incident occurred at Pradhan’s grocery shop around 9pm. He was at the shop with wife Sandhya and sister Purnima when the five men came and called him out. “They asked me why I, along with my wife and sister, had taken part in a rally for the RSP’s Kalchini candidate and shouted slogans against Gorkhaland on Monday. I replied that the rally had been organised to call upon people to maintain peace in the region and cast their votes for the Left Front candidate. The Morcha men said what I had done was wrong and started beating me. My wife and sister were pushed and shoved when they tried to save me,” said Pradhan from the hospital bed. Sandhya lodged an FIR with Kalchini police against Deoraj Gurung, Panchu Lama, Monu Thapa, Sunil Thapa and Sanu Bhai Lama. “I suffered an injury on the right eye and doctors suggested a CT scan. The attackers had threatened that they would kill my family members if a complaint was lodged against them,” said Pradhan. Denying the allegation, Ashoke Lama, the convener of eastern Dooars committee of the Morcha, said: “None of our supporters was involved in the incident. The attack on Pradhan could be the result of personal rivalry. The RSP is unnecessarily dragging our supporters into the case.” The police went to Chinchula, 37km from here, in search of the five Morcha supporters, but none of them were at home.