Governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi (centre) and wife Tara (left) with divisional forest officer Sumita Ghatak (right) at a rest house in Sukna, 10km from Siliguri, on Tuesday. Gandhi hopes that the impasse in the hills would end peacefully. ‘The Centre, state and the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha are active and sincere to resolve the issue through discussions and negotiations,’ the governor said. Picture by Kundan Yolmo

Kurseong, Jan. 6: The Gorkha Janmuti Morcha said it would go for jail bharao andolan or court arrest if any of its members were arrested for the assault on the murder accused on the Kurseong court premises last week.

A Morcha procession that snaked its way through town today shouted slogans against the arrest, threatening to launch jail bharao andolan if innocent people were picked up. Raids are on to arrest Morcha supporters who had orchestrated the attack.

Nirmal Diyali, Bikash Diyali, Bimal Diyali, Krishnabahadur Diyali and Rajen Senturi had been picked up after Morcha leader Subodh Pradhan was lynched on Thursday morning. The next day when the five were brought to court, party supporters beat them up leaving them almost dead. While four of the accused had to be hospitalised, Nirmal Diyali managed to flee the spot and is yet to be traced.

“We raided Kurseong, Makaibari, Tindharia, Garidhura and Dudhia. As yet we have not arrested anybody,” Rakesh Singh, the subdivisional police officer of Kurseong told journalists here today.

The case against the assault was started suo motu. The names of five Morcha leaders besides party vice-president Pradeep Pradhan figure in the complaint. The others on the list are Yuva Morcha president Pemendra Gurung and secretary Sameer Deep Blon, youth wing leaders Subash Pradhan and Suraj Pradhan and central committee member Anit Thapa.

Singh said 70 commandos have been brought to Kurseong after the assault and a hunt was on for Nirmal Diyali.

The Morcha on the other hand has been demanding that seven more people named in the FIR for the Subodh Pradhan murder case should be arrested. Binay Tamang, the media and publicity secretary of the Morcha, said a meeting regarding the accused in the arson and assault cases would be held with the district magistrate and the superintendent of police in Darjeeling tomorrow. “Depending on the result of tomorrow’s meeting, we will chalk out our future plans,” said Tamang.