Gurung’s house that had been set on fire on Friday. Picture by Suman Tamang

Darjeeling, July 29: Preliminary investigations suggest that three different guns were used to fire at Gorkha Janmukti Morcha supporters on Friday, police sources have said.

The volley of bullets that had come raining down, allegedly from the house of GNLF branch committee president Deepak Gurung, had killed Pramila Sharma, a 38-year-old Morcha activist.

“We recovered three types of empty cartridges from Gurung’s residence which clearly suggest that three different weapons were used in the firing,” a police source said. The cartridges are of 9mm, 0.22mm and 0.32mm calibre bullets. So far, 10 empty cartridges have been recovered.

“These were found on the stairs that leads from the second to the third floor,” said the source. Pramila was killed in front of the second floor, the main entrance to Gurung’s house. Since the building is located on a slope, the ground and the first floors that have been let out are below the driveway aligned to Dr Zakir Hussain Road and can be accessed through a side entrance. The GNLF leader and his family occupy the second and third floors of the building.

Eyewitnesses had said the bullets had come in three bursts, suggesting the use of an automatic with 9mm bullets.

It is, however, not yet known which calibre bullet had hit Sharma as the post-mortem report says it had pierced and exited the deceased’s body.

Investigations suggest that there were “five-six” people at Gurung’s house when the firing took place. “We have got some names and are trying to trace them,” said the source.

The police are also worried that the people who were at the GNLF leader’s residence at the time of the firing have fled with the firearms. “That they have escaped is obvious because we have not yet recovered any firearms,” said the source.

Only the second floor of Gurung’s four-storied building had been completely charred after being set on fire by Morcha supporters in the aftermath of the firing. The rest of the floors are intact. Verifications are being conducted to find out the type of arms for which Gurung has a licence. “We know he had a licence, but we want to check out the gun type,” the source said. Civilians are not usually allowed to keep firearms that use 9mm bullets, suggesting that one of the guns used during the firing was probably illegal.

According to the source, the GNLF leader was holed up on the third floor when the mob vandalised the house and set it on fire. “We hid him inside the ground floor toilet. He was later arrested,” said the source. The only other person found in Gurung’s house at that time was 75-year-old Badri Maya Tamang, the caretaker. She, too, was rescued but since she is hard of hearing and suffered a shock, not much details have emerged from her.

Today, the Morcha put up posters across the town warning people that no property should be damaged in town and that those found guilty of it would be dealt with accordingly by the party. The posters come in the wake of attacks on the houses of GNLF leaders after the Friday firing.