Morcha for SSB pullout

TT, Kalimpong, Oct. 20: The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha today demanded the removal of the Shashastra Seema Bal (SSB) outpost from Jhalong — the village on the Bhutan border — where the local people and the jawans had clashed on Sunday night. Eight victims of the clash were brought to the Kalimpong Subdivisional Hospital today. The clash occurred after a jawan, Rakesh Singh, had allegedly been found in a compromising position with a married woman at Jhalong, 120km from Kalimpong. Leaders of the Morcha’s Kalimpong unit met the sub-divisional officer, Amyas Tshering, and additional superintendent of police K.B. Dorjee and demanded the removal of the SSB outpost from Jhalong. “We are not concerned about the jawan’s relationship with the woman. What we can’t accept is the indiscriminate manner in which the SSB personnel opened fire on innocent villagers.The SSB outpost should be removed from the village,” said Bijay Sundas, a central committee member of the Morcha. All the eight victims — Dipak Pradhan (in picture by C.F. Lepcha), Ranjit Pradhan, Dilip Rai, Kalyan Tamang, Pratik Gurung, Robin Rai, Mata Tamang and Sanjay Sharma — are carrying pellet injuries. Hospital sources said the doctors had removed the pellets lodged in the bodies, mostly limbs, of six patients. “An orthopaedic surgeon will operate on two others tomorrow,” said a source. Mumbai climber feared dead in Sikkim avalanche Mount Thingchinkhang: Tragic summit TT, Gangtok, Oct. 20: A Mumbai-based mountaineer is feared to have been killed in an avalanche yesterday afternoon after descending from Mount Thingchinkhang that he had successfully summitted with four others. According to the district collector of West Sikkim, S. Pradhan, one death had been reported but the identity of the victim is yet to be determined because the group could not be contacted. A rescue operation has been launched. Mount Thingchinkhang rises to 19,712 feet above sea level. “A team of four mountaineers from Mumbai had scaled the peak and were on the way down to the base camp when an avalanche hit them. Four others, including porters, have been reportedly injured. More details are awaited as the area is very remote and inaccessible. A porter accompanying the team had rushed down from the base camp to a village above Yuksom and gave the news about the incident,” Pradhan said. According to forest officials posted at the Kanchenjungha National Park in Yuksom, the team of five mountaineers, Mangesh Deshpande, Anju Paniculam, Sadasivan Sekar, Shantanu Pandit and Parag Pendharkar, all from Mumbai, had gone past the forest check post on October 12. The officials said the team had a climbing permit issued by the state home department, after ratification by the Union home ministry. The permit is valid till October 24. Five porters and a liaison officer of the state home department made up the rest of the team. According to the porter, Anju had stayed back at the base camp at 14,000 feet after falling ill and the rest of the climbers summitted the peak on October 18. The porter told the officials that the team was some 500 metres from the summit when the avalanche hit them, killing one climber and injuring the others. Sources in the state home department said the porter could only reach the village above Yuksom, 138km from here, yesterday and the report arrived in Gangtok this morning. It usually takes three days to trek from Yuksom to the base camp. The sources said a team of Sherpas has arrived in Sikkim and were on a rescue mission. The rescue team also comprises members of the travel agents’ association besides state government officials. Although it is impossible to land near the peak, an army helicopter has made a recce of the area this afternoon. The name of the victim can only be determined once the rescue team reaches the spot. GJMM selects Champamari as Kalchini candidate SNS,JALPAIGURI, 20 OCT: Mr Wilson Champamari would be the GJMM candidate for the Kalchini Assembly by election in Jalpaiguri district slated for 7 November. Declaring this, the GJMM East Dooars Committee coordinator, Mr Ashoke Lama said that Mr Champamari would file his nomination as an independent candidate from Alipurduar tomorrow. “We are sure he would win the seat hands down,” he said. The seat fell vacant following the election of the incumbent MLA Mr Manohar Tirkey to the Parliament from the Alipurduar constituency. However, the GJMM-supported BJP candidate from the Alipurduar Parliamentary constituency, Mr Manoj Tigga secured the highest number of votes from the Kalchini segment in the last Los Sabha elections. But this time, the GJMM itself has got into the electoral fray having cold-shouldered its ally, the BJP. “Opening dialogue with the BJP would have amounted to wastage of time as the party has no worthwhile base in the area. The party managed the highest number of votes in the segment thanks to our support. We have decided to contest ourselves in accordance with the directive of the GJMM central leadership,” said Mr Lama. Contesting the GJMM claim that the BJP had no political base in Kalchini the BJP Jalpaiguri district president, Mr Dipen Pramanik said that his party had an enduring support base independent of the GJMM support. “We contested the Alipurduar Parliamentary seat and the Kalchini Assembly seat a number of times on our own and we got a fair portion of votes. This negates the GJMM claim that my party got all the votes in the general election in this area thanks to the BJP-GJMM alliance. We have put up Mr Kamal Kujur as our candidate for the by-election,” Mr Pramanik said. Another controversy over the GJMM candidate has cropped up, as the party candidate happens to be the son of an important local Congress leader, Mr Subin Chapramari, who is the president of the Congress-ruled Kalchini panchayat samity. This apart, the GJMM candidate is related to another formidable local Congress leader, Mr Atul Subba. But the district congress leadership seems to be steering clear of the controversy , saying that everything was within the pale of possibility in a democratic set up. “Mr Subin Champamari is a loyal member of Congress and so is Mr Atul Subba. But this does not prove anything. However, the GJMM leadership has shown sagacity in choosing an Adivasi (Boro tribe) candidate, as it is desperate to win the Adivasi support. But it is for the people to elect their representative,” said Mr Biswaranjan Sarkar, the district Congress president. Road blocked in protest Siliguri, Oct. 20: The residents of Ward 4 of the Siliguri Municipal Corporation blocked Hill Cart Road near Hashmi Chowk for almost an hour today to protest against the arrest of five residents of the area and the alleged misbehaviour of police after a clash last night. Led by the district Youth Congress president and councillor of Ward 16 Sujoy Ghatak, the residents blocked the road from 10.30am. The blockade was lifted at 11.20am after Sitaram Sinha, the deputy superintendent of police, Siliguri, assured the protesters that necessary action would be taken against the perpetrators in the next 24 hours. TT Trinamul Siliguri: All the 14 councillors of the Trinamul Congress at the Siliguri Municipal Corporation met, along with the Independent, Ranjan Silsharma, here on Tuesday and iterated the party's decision to have no truck with the Congress till it severed the ties with the Left Front. TT Thieves held Alipurduar: Two thieves were arrested on Monday along with a man who used to purchase goods from them. Akhil Mia alias Raju of Mahakal Para, Ishak Ansari, a resident of Satali Tea Garden and Deepak Goyel of Jaigaon were produced in the court of the additional chief judicial magistrate here on Tuesday. Police has also recovered 15 gram of gold from them. TT Garden death Alipurduar: Asha Oraon, 28, of Singhania Tea Estate near Birpara was found dead in her house on Monday. The body was found by her mother-in-law and daughter after they returned from a fair. An FIR has been lodged in Birpara police station. TT