Members of the Darjeeling civil society hit the streets of the hill town on Saturday and organised a march in protest of the attack on Sudan Gurung, demanding immediate arrest of the attackers.
Gurung, considered the whistleblower to the alleged corruption over the recruitment of teachers in the hills, was attacked by criminals on Thursday.
“Over 24 hours have passed since the attack on Sudan Gurung. Yet, nobody has been arrested so far. Today (Saturday), we met police officers at the Darjeeling Sadar police station and urged them to speed up the investigation and immediately arrest those who attacked him,” said Birendra Rasaily, a social activist who had joined the march.
He pointed out that earlier, when Gurung had elaborated on the alleged corruption, activists had approached the police, seeking police protection for him.
“We had appealed to the police for protection to be provided to Gurung. Senior police officers said they were looking into it, but he was not given protection,” added Rasaily.
Gurung, who heads the Trained Unemployed Youth Welfare Organisation (TUYWO), was attacked by unidentified persons on Thursday in the Old Supermarket area of Darjeeling town.
On Saturday, the march started near the Darjeeling railway station. It headed towards Chowrasta (mall) and from there, reached the Sadar police station through the HD Lama Road.
Later, a two-member delegation went to the police station to learn about the progress of the probe.
The incident has also made some of the political parties condemn the attack on the TUYWO leader.
Saman Pathak, secretary of CPM’s Darjeeling district committee, said Gurung was attacked as he had “exposed the recruitment scam.”
“We have extended our full support to the movement organised against the teacher recruitment scam in the hills,” said Pathak.
A delegation of CPM leaders on Saturday also met Gurung, who is still under treatment at the Darjeeling district hospital.
Ranjita Subba, secretary of the Janchetna Sangharsh Samiti, an organization affiliated with the GNLF (Gorkha National Liberation Front), said they appealed to all youths and intellectuals across the hills to support Gurung.
“We want the attackers to be booked under the law,” said Subba.