The wind behind the sails of a whistleblower who had been alleging corruption in the appointment of school teachers in the Darjeeling hills blew stronger on Friday.

Prominent lawyer and CPM leader Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharyya came out in support of Sudhan Gurung, the president of the Trained Unemployed Welfare Organisation (TUWO).

Sudhan, who has been alleging irregularities in the teacher recruitment in the hills, was attacked at the Darjeeling Motor Stand around 8pm on May 8.

On Friday, a convention was organised jointly by TUWO, Yuva Kalyan Sangatan and a recently formed “Justice for Sudhan Gurung” group in Darjeeling.

Bhattacharyya, who is known to pursue legal battles against the Mamata Banerjee government, was present at the convention.

“The convention was called by the people, and their main issue was the attack on Sudhan Gurung. Some of the questions raised at the convention were why he had been attacked and who had done it. There must be an inquiry as he has been raising the issue of illegal appointment of teachers in the hills,” said Bhattacharyya, a former
Calcutta mayor.

The lawyer felt that the recruitment of teachers to schools run by the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) reeked of corruption, just like the School Service Commission scam in the rest of Bengal.

“The Supreme Court has quashed the teachers’ appointment in Bengal,” said Bhattacharya.

The CPM leader said that the attack could have been orchestrated by people who feared that the court would provide a favourable ruling on the issue raised by Sudhan.

“Everyone, cutting across political lines, condemned the attack. Everyone has to be united (against this attack) to save society. The Supreme Court has observed that corruption destroys democracies. We need to support Sudhan,” said Bhattacharyya.

Sudhan has been alleging that the appointment of 313 teachers in the GTA schools in 2019 was flawed.

Several leaders of the Bharatiya Gorkha Prajatantrik Morcha (BGPM) were among the 313 teachers.

Bhattacharyya’s presence in Darjeeling is likely to have an impact on hill politics as sources in the Indian Gorkha Janshakti Front (IGJF) claimed that they would be collaborating with Bhattacharya to fight legal cases on Darjeeling-centric issues.

“There is no politics involved here. However, Bhattacharya will be legally helping the IGJF,” said a source in the party.

The IGJF led by Ajoy Edwards is the principal Opposition party in the hills.