Darjeeling: An All-Terrain Vehicle (ATV) hidden under straw
heaps and foliage has been unearthed by police in a tea garden in
Tukvar, Gorkha Janmukti Morcha leader Bimal Gurung's former stronghold
near Darjeeling.
The find has sparked speculation about the reasons for the
concealment and the owner of the automobile rarely used in the region.
Gurung, who has been in hiding after cases were filed against
him related to violence during last year's statehood agitation, had been
publicly spotted riding an ATV of similar make during a monastery trip
in 2014.
Darjeeling police have taken to Twitter, posting pictures of the
vehicle being pulled out and asking anyone with valid papers or
information about the ATV to approach officers. "Based on anonymous
complaint, an olive green Polaris ATV with left hand drive has been
seized as it was intentionally hidden under suspicious circumstances.
Anybody having valid papers or any information about it may please
contact us," the police tweet says.
The ATV is of Polaris make and the company does not have any
dealers in Bengal. It is used mostly by armed forces and adventure-sport
enthusiasts.
The pictures on Twitter show the police had to tie long ropes and haul up the vehicle with the help of nearly a dozen youths.
Gurung had been spotted riding an ATV in Singtom in Tukvar
while visiting the monastery, Dichen Tashi Choling Gumba, on October 26,
2014.
Photographs published in newspapers show the ATV was also
olive green, manufactured by Polaris and had a left-hand drive. The road
leading to the Gumba is steep and difficult.
In 2014, a 31-member Thai delegation along with the then
Indian ambassador to Thailand, Harsh Vardhan Shringla, had gone to the
monastery for a ceremony to install a Buddha statue.
The Telegraph
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