June 28: A contractual driver for the army who was arrested last month for suspected ISI links today held a news conference in Siliguri where he alleged that he was released “by mistake” from the Darjeeling correctional home.
The matter came to light this afternoon when 54-year-old Magan Bahadur Singh held a news conference in the Siliguri Journalists’ Club to highlight that the jail had set him free yesterday, and he was not an absconding accused person.
He was soon taken into custody.
If his allegation is true, it is unclear how jail authorities allowed him to walk free. The Darjeeling district magistrate has ordered a probe.
At the Siliguri Journalists’ Club this afternoon, Singh, among four persons arrested in Sukna for suspected ISI links, said he wanted to surrender.
“I was accused in a murder case in Sukna (around 10km from Siliguri) back on March 16, 2008. I was arrested and produced in the Kurseong court, where the case is still pending. I was, however, granted bail after I had spent 66 days in the correctional home,” Singh said today.
“Again on May 18 this year, I was arrested on the charge of having links with the ISI. Police took me into custody and subsequently, I was sent to the Darjeeling correctional home,” Singh said.
Yesterday, according to him, he was sent to the Kurseong court where trial for the earlier murder case was being held.
“If a person gets bail in a case, he is supposed to appear during the trial of the case on his own. But as my client was in custody in the correctional home for another case, it was the duty of the home authorities to present him before the court during the murder case trial,” Bhaskar Das, the lawyer representing Singh, said.
After the trial, according to Singh, he was taken back to the Darjeeling correctional home.
“However, around 6.30pm, the correctional home jailor came to me and told me that they would release me as my release order had come. I was asked to pack my clothes, the officers prepared necessary documents and took my thumb print and finally told me to walk out,” said Singh, who is a resident of Choto Adalpur close to Sukna.
Singh said he took a cab and reached home late at night.
“It took me some time to understand the error committed by the correctional home authorities. I spoke to my lawyer and realised the mistake made by the correctional home authorities,” the driver said.
“I could not understand why the correctional home authorities released me. I thought of narrating the tale to media persons and surrender before police.”
Policemen who learnt about the news conference reached the club minutes after Singh finished speaking and took him into custody.
A senior lawyer in Kurseong, where Singh was produced yesterday, said the correctional home authorities may have been negligent on the issue.
“The court has to issue a production warrant to inform the correctional home authorities that he needs to be produced again on the next date. The next date had been fixed for July 24, 2013. In the production warrant the court always writes that if the accused has no other pending cases he may be released since he has already been given bail in this particular murder case. The Darjeeling correctional home authorities might have forgotten that Singh was also an accused in an ISI related case and had not yet obtained bail in that case,” said the lawyer.
Saumitra Mohan, the district magistrate of Darjeeling, said: “I have directed Kaushik Nag, Darjeeling Sadar SDO, to conduct an inquiry. I cannot comment until the facts are placed before me.”
District administration sources said an initial inquiry had revealed that D.Chaudhury, the assistant controller of the correctional home, had released Singh because of “some mistake”, but they did not reveal what the mistake was.
शिक्षक प्रमुखको लापारवाहीको कारण बेहाल अवस्थामा चम्पामाया प्रथमिक पाठशाला
पहाड़को प्रथमिक पाठशालाहरु एका एक बन्द हुनुमा सरकार पक्ष दोषी छ कि शिक्षक-शिक्षिकाहरुको लापारवाही? किन दार्जीलिङ पहाड़को शैक्षिक स्तर दिनोदिन खस्किन्दै गइरहेको छ? प्रथमिक शिक्षा बाल-बालिकाहरुको निम्ति महत्तवपूर्ण हुँदा-हुँदै पनि किन आजसम्म पहाड़को शिक्षा व्यवस्थामा सुधार आउन सकिरहेको छैन?
राजनीति गर्दिनँ भन्नु पनि अर्को राजनीति होः हर्कबहादुर छेत्री
मेरो अधिकारक्षेत्रभित्र पाँच बर्षको लागि जनताको हितको काम गर् भनेर मलाई भोट हालेको हो नि। मलाई थाहा छ यसले जनताको धेरै हित हुन्छ। यसले जनताको हितसँगै पार्टीको पनि हित हुन्छ, आन्दोलनलाई पनि सहयोग पुर्याउँछ भनेपछि एकदम निसंकोच भनेर अघि बढ्न सक्छु म। म त्यही काम गर्दैछु।
बघिनी फेरि पुरानै खोरमा
‘समयले मानिसलाई कहाँ कहाँ पुर्याउँछ,,,,,,’ कुनै समय रेडियो नेपालबाट बजिरहने यो चर्चित गीतले मान्छेको जीवनमा प्रणयसम्बन्धको आरोह अवरोहले पार्ने प्रभावलाई सुन्दर ढंगले व्याख्या गरेको छ। यो लोकप्रिय गीतको यही एक हरफ कुनै राजनीतिकर्मीको जीवनसँग गाँसेर हेर्दा के उत्तर पाइएला?
साहित्य अनि सर्जकलाई माया गर्ने घिसिङ
80 को दशकमा देशभरिका गोर्खाहरूलाई जातित्वको भावना उत्पन्न गराउने प्रथम नेता सुवास घिसिङको निधनले अहिले घड़ी सम्पूर्ण दार्जीलिङ पहाड़ नै स्तब्ध बनेको छ। गोर्खाहरूका हित अनि अस्तित्वका निम्ति छुट्टै राज्यको बहस लिएर सुवास धिसिङले त्यसताक पहाड़का प्रत्येक गाँऊहरूको भ्रमण गरेका थिए। 22 जुन 1936 सालमा मिरिकको मञ्जु चियाबगानमा जन्म लिएरका सुवास घिसिङले आफ्नो तर्क राख्न एकलै जनसभा गर्थे। घिसिङले सम्पूर्ण गोर्खाहरूलाई एकै शुत्रमा बाँध्न "गोर्खाल्याण्ड" शब्दको जन्म गरेका थिए।
निराश छन् विधायक डा. छेत्री
“बजट सत्रमा के कुराहरू उठान गर्नु पर्ने भन्नेबारे हामीले जीटीएबाट कहिले फिडब्याक पाएका छैनौं” डा छेत्रीले भने। डा हर्कबहादुर छेत्री मोर्चाका प्रवक्ता हुन् अनि कालेबुङका जनप्रतिनिधि। दुइवटा महत्वपूर्ण पदमा बसेका डा छेत्रीलाई अहिलेसम्म जीटीएको बैठकमा निम्ताइएको छैन, पार्टीको राजनैतिक लाइनबारे उनीसँग चर्चा र छलफल नगरिएको त झन कति भयो, उनैलाई हेक्का छैन।
