The ransacked ABGL office in Darjeeling. (Suman Tamang)

Kurseong, Jan. 2: Gorkha Janmukti Morcha supporters today snatched from police five men accused of lynching their leader on Thursday morning and beat four of them unconscious.

The fifth gave the mob the slip and fled the melee outside the Kurseong subdivisional court.

Nirmal Diyali, Bikash Di-yali, Krishnabahadur Diyali and Bimal Diyali were hospitalised after police took them into the court, gasping and barely conscious, and the magistrate announced their judicial remand.

Subodh Pradhan, conve-ner of the Morcha’s Pankha- bari-Giddhapahar unit, was beaten to death at a Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council guesthouse 45km from here after he allegedly beat up its guards, broke its lock and entered the bungalow with six others around 1am on Thursday.

In retaliation, Morcha supporters set fire to the guesthouse in Rohini and 20 houses on Thursday afternoon.

Among the five held for Subodh’s murder were two guards of the guesthouse.

Lodged at the Pradhannagar police station in Siliguri last night, they were brought to the court around 12.30pm today. Over 500 Morcha supporters greeted the police van carrying the five with stones as it rolled in. Its windscreen was smashed. The mob demanded that the murder accused be handed over and tried to open the door.

Pleas for peace from subdivisional police officer Rakesh Singh and subdivisional officer Dipyendu Das worked for a few minutes. The van was allowed to reach the court, but the mob outnumbered the 30 policemen trying to keep it at bay and the five were snatched as they stepped out. They were hit with sticks and khukuris and kicked and punched.

The police are looking for Rajen Senchury, the fifth accused, who fled through an adjacent garden.

The Morcha brass refused comment on the incident.

Darjeeling attack

The Akhil Bharatiya Gorkha League office on Ladenla Road was ransacked last night.

The outfit, at loggerheads with the Morcha of late, said it was victimised though it had nothing to do with Subodh’s murder in Rohini.