Widow of AIGL leader Madan Tamang to meet Mamata Banerjee,press for immediate arrest of accused

KOLKATA: Bharati Tamang, the widow of All India Gorkha League ( AIGL) leader Madan Tamang, is likely to meet West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to press for the immediate arrest of 23 people against whom a Kolkata court has issued arrest warrants in connection with her husband’s murder.

People close to Tamang told ET that she will try to call on Banerjee during the chief minister’s two-day Darjeeling visit beginning Wednesday.

Madan Tamang was killed in Darjeeling town in May 2010. The Central Bureau of Investigation, which was subsequently handed over the case, has in its final charge sheet named 23 leaders of Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM), including its chief Bimal Gurung, his wife Asha and party MLA from Kalimpong Harkabahadur Chhetri. The GJM heads the Gorkha Territorial Administration in Darjeeling.

Although a Kolkata court had issued arrest warrants against the 23 suspects on June 6, none of them has been arrested so far.

“We want to meet the chief minister and brief her about the delay in the arrest of GJM leaders allegedly involved in the murder,” said Bishal Chhetri, a Gorkha League leader in Darjeeling. The delay in arrests has prompted Bharati Tamang to sit on a hunger strike.

During her visit to Darjeeling, Banerjee is expected to meet officials of the Gorkha Territorial Administration and GJM leaders, including Bimal Gurung.

Meanwhile, the GJM leaders named in the CBI charge sheet have approached the Kolkata High Court seeking anticipatory bail. The court is yet to hear their plea.