As the hills in Bengal continue to remain under stir, according to senior West Bengal government officials the Gorkha Janamukti Morcha (GJM) is preparing for a prolonged underground armed movement for a separate state and has hired Maoists from neighbouring countries as mercenaries to train its cadres. Although the claims have been denied by the GJM leadership.
“We have inputs from intelligence agencies that Maoists from neighbouring countries have been hired by the GJM. And it may target government properties and senior police and administrative officials so as to further aggravate the situation,” ADG (Law and order) Anuj Sharma said.
“These are completely baseless statements. These statements are being made to malign us and derail the democratic movement,” GJM general secretary Roshan Giri said.
According to Hindustan Times reports, a senior official said, “The GJM has a huge cache of arms and ammunition. They have stockpiled arms for the last few years. And we have intelligence reports that they are preparing for underground armed movement in the hills,”
Another senior official said the government is “prepared for any situation and steps are being taken to tackle any sort of armed struggle”.
Notably, Darjeeling has been under a complete shut down for 38 days with multiple instances of violence. Police outposts were attacked and ammunitions were looted.
