GTA member Urmila Rumba arrested, gets bail

Darjeeling

14 Sep 2013

Darjeeling police this afternoon arrested GTA elected member Urmila Rumba of Darjeeling Sadar II constituency from Chowrastha while she was participating in a programme called by the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha.

Rumba’s arrest takes the total number of Gorkhaland Territorial Administration sabhasads arrested so far to 11. However, the GTA member was released later in the evening. The police have also detained more than 1,500 GJM leaders and activists since July 29 when the renewed movement for statehood gathered momentum.

Rumba was participating in a political-cum cultural programme held to highlight the Darjeeling hills people are different from the remaining populace of Bengal and also to protest state government atrocities.

The other GTA members presently under arrest are Binay Tamang from Bloomfield constituency, Prabha Chettri from Mahanadi-Tindharia, Mahendra Pradhan from Sonada Pachyang, Anush Thapa from Tung-St Mary’s, Yogendra Rai from Kurseong Town Deorali 1, Anit Kumar Thapa from Kurseong Giddepahar, Kalyan Dewan from Gitdabling-Nimbong, Satish Pokhrel from Relli and Nima Tamang from Dr Graham’s Homes-Bhalukhop constituency. The tenth member, Ramesh Lama from Takling-Peshok constituency, has been released on bail.

Meanwhile, a second meeting of the GTA to elect its new chief executive is scheduled on September 27, but with the state government appearing unrelenting in its stance, the outcome may not be very different from the September 4 meeting, which turned out a damp squib with nearly all GTA sabhasads choosing to abstain. The two members who did appear were there just to table a petition seeking unconditional release of all those arrested.

GJM president Bimal Gurung has indicated to the state government that GTA members will attend future meetings only when all the arrested people are released unconditionally.

The GJM is also contemplating a ‘jail bharo’ agitation in the wake of the spree of arrests of its activists. “We will court arrests en mass if the state government continues to arrest innocent people. Our party members will sit along with the GJAC to chalk out the date,” informed GJM general secretary Roshan Giri.

In the meantime, Nabin Subba, the food and supply in-charge of the Ghoom-Sukhay circle, was released today after being detained on Friday for questioning on the suspicion that PDS food grains were being diverted to the GJM.

 “Subba was detained for questioning as there were some complaints against him. We let him go today since we did not find anything to implicate him,” said a senior police official not wishing to be named.

Three prominent businessmen of Darjeeling and Kalimpong have also been arrested on charges of financing the statehood movement.

It has been learnt that heads of schools and colleges have yet to write appeals to the President and Prime Minister on the separate state issue as instructed earlier by the GJAC.

 “We have to sit and consult with other heads about the contents of the letter and this will take some time. However, we have time as the instruction is to send the letter anytime beginning September 13,” said the principal of an English medium residential school.

The GJM has also asked schools to deliver five-minute lectures to students on the Gorkhaland issue during morning assembly.