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Police raid GJM chief Bimal Gurung's office, recover weapons

by IBNS 15 Jun 2017, 08:46 am

Darjeeling, June 15 (IBNS) : Amid escalating unrest in the Darjeeling hills, West Bengal police on Thursday raided the office of Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) chief Bimal Gurungs and recovered a huge cache of weapons, reports said.

Weapons like crossbows, arrows, knives and machetes  were recovered from the office. 

 
In protest against the crackdown, the GJM called an indefinite shutdown in the hills. 

The development comes a day after Gurung said the agitation for a separate Gorkhaland will continue and asked tourists to avoid Darjeeling.

Last week,  violence broke out in the hills with the GJM  going for an agitation during the visit of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, her cabinet colleagues and a host of high officials. 

The GJM, gradually being threatened with the rise of TMC in the hills, was protesting against Bengali being made compulsory in schools.

Going on a rampage, GJM supporters had attacked police, torched vehicles and damaged public and private property.

The agitation took a turn for the worse as the GJM revived its demand for separate statehood for Darjeeling and threatened to prolong the stir. .

Meanwhile, the Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF) has severed its ties with the TMC and joined hands with the GJM.