The ex-servicemen and Morcha leaders at the circuit house on Tuesday. Picture by Kundan Yolmo

Siliguri, April 22: The one-man commission probing the lathicharge on a rally of ex-servicemen at Darjeeling More on April 9 has agreed to be back here next month to hear more witnesses. M.L. Meena, who heads the panel, has heard 20 people in the three-day hearing that ended today.

A team of ex-servicemen, led by Roshan Giri, the general secretary of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha, met Meena at the Siliguri circuit house today. “We have requested him to give us more time, so that we can ask all our members to depose before the commission. The chairman has agreed,” Giri said.

The Morcha leader claimed that the former jawans had received the letter for appearing before the commission from the Darjeeling district magistrate’s office on April 19. “It was not possible for us to appear within the short period.”

Meena visited Kalimpong and Algarah yesterday and met a few ex-servicemen at the Kalimpong circuit house. “I met Dhanbahadur Rai, who is currently recuperating at a nursing home at Algarah,” said Meena. He also met D.B.Thakuri, D.K. Gautam and Rikiraj Gajmer, the three former soldiers who were hurt during the lathicharge, Meena said. “I have decided to give them more time so that they can depose according to their convenience,” Meena said after the meeting. “I will be back here in the first week of May,” he added.

The former soldiers appeared happy after meeting Meena. “We are going to meet him on May 6,” said Ramesh Alley, the president of the ex-servicemen’s wing of the Morcha.

Giri, accompanied by D.K.Pradhan and Tilak Roka, left for Calcutta today. The Morcha team will meet Amit Kiran Deb, the Bengal chief secretary, at Writers’ Buildings at 4pm tomorrow. Giri, who did not divulge the agenda of tomorrow’s meeting, said the party would hold a public meeting at Bagha Jatin Park here on Sunday.