Kolkata: In a big blow to Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) chief Bimal Gurung, the Calcutta High Court has directed the CBI to include him as an accused and also frame charges against him in the case of murder of All India Gorkha League (AIGL) president Madan Tamang in Darjeeling 14 years ago.
Tamang was hacked to death by Mr Gurung's aides in the hills in broad daylight on May 21 in 2010. The CBI probed the murder on the orders of the HC following a plea by Bharati Tamang, the wife of the slain AIGL chief, and chargesheeted 48 GJM leaders including Mr Gurung in May of 2015.
All the accused surrendered before the City Sessions Court in Kolkata on December 21 in 2016 and got bail. In August of 2017, the same court dropped Mr Gurung’s name from the list of accused after his counsel submitted that his client was in Kalimpong the day Tamang was murdered and that the CBI had no proof against him.
Ms Tamang also challenged this legally. Hearing her petition on Thursday, Justice Samanta of the HC observed that the City Sessions court judge had committed an error by dropping Mr Gurung's name. He said in his order, “Complicity against Bimal Gurung has been sufficiently established.”
The order stated, “The charge of this case is required to be framed against Bimal Gurung with other accused persons. The alleged portion of the impugned order passed by the Learned Chief Judge of City Sessions Court through which Bimal Gurung was discharged from this case is hereby set aside.”
