Hints of month-end talks & longer strikes...DM to provide Safe Passage... Front invites Adivasis....

KalimNews: The strike of 40 days is not only a threatening it will be in force confirmed Bimal Gurung, President of GJMM today in Mela Ground of Kalimpong. Speaking to GJMM supporters Bimal Gurung called upon Amar Lama to show his honesty by supporting the party. when the party is tarnished of murder Charge of his elder brother.
Gurung stated that Lama's movement  and silence after the murder of Madan Tamang is doubtful. Earlier Lama had resigned from the party  just o the day of the murder of Tamang. Gurung disclosed that Lama had left Kalimpong without informing Gurung on 19th just two days before the murder. He also shared his doubt  in the relation between the two brothers and stated that there might  have some feuds between the two on property matters. Gurung also tried to justify that Lama's character is dubious, he was arrested in a case of attack on Subhas Ghising in 7 Ghumti and later released on bail. 

The meeting was addressed by various GJMM brass leaders but attended by few party supporters as compared to earlier meetings.Gurung called upon the public to get ready for the strike proposed by the party.

Above:The crowd in the beginning of the meeting and before the speech of Bimal Gurung

Above and Below: The crowd during the speech of Bimal Gurung  at Kalimpong

 

Gurung addresses the rally in Kalimpong on Wednesday. Picture by Chinlop Fudong Lepcha

TT, Kalimpong, July 14: Bimal Gurung today told a rally here that he was “confident” the next round of tripartite talks on Darjeeling should be held on the 22nd or 23rd of this month.

While Gurung did not reveal the reason for this confidence, Gorkha Janmukti Morcha leaders said their party chief was possibly talking to Delhi and might have received some indications to this effect.

The Morcha president, however, stuck to his decision to organise a bandh on July 25 and longer shutdowns from August. He said his party would beat the GNLF on its 40-day bandh record. He also said the composition of the talks delegation would be worked out in the next few days.

“The talks must take place on July 22 and 23. Otherwise, there will be a huge problem. And if that happens, the Centre and the state governments should shoulder the blame,” he added.

Although Gurung did not link the talks and the strikes, indications are that the party will call off its shutdown even if only the date is announced before the Morcha’s deadline ends.

“Going by the track record of the Morcha, it is safe to assume that the party is using the threat of strike to have its way vis-à-vis the sixth round of tripartite talks,” said an observer.

Minister Asok Bhattacharya, who is one of the state's two representatives for the political-level talks, said the Bengal government had no information on when the next round of tripartite talks would be held. “We have no idea about this,” he said.

The Morcha president said the over 40-day strike beginning from August 4 would be preceded by two rounds of shutdowns: a 24-hour strike on July 25 and a 72-hour bandh from the 28th of the month. “When we had earlier announced the 40-day strike, people sniggered and said we were imitating the GNLF. Now we will go in for an even longer strike, which will be not less than 40 days…we will show how to make a success of it,” he added.

About 2,000 people braved the scorching afternoon sun to listen to Gurung, who spoke for close to one-and-half hours in his usual fire-and-brimstone tenor. The number of people was higher before Gurung began his speech when the weather was more pleasant.

The Morcha has been facing the heat since the murder of ABGL chief Madan Tamang. Today, the party president lashed out against his one-time confidant Amar Lama, even implying that he could have had a hand in Tamang’s killing as the two were siblings and might have had some rivalry over property.

People at the Morcha rally with umbrellas to keep away the scorching sun. (CF Lepcha)

“They (Amar and Madan) could have had a dispute over property or money. Amar Lama was with me for months (preceding Tamang’s murder). He suddenly left on May 19 (two days before the ABGL leader was killed in Darjeeling). Why? Don’t forget he was implicated in the 7 Gomti incident,” he said.

The “7 Gomti” is a place in the Kurseong subdivisison where an attempt was made on the life of GNLF president Subash Ghisingh on February 10, 2001. Lama had been arrested, but had to be let off and the charges against him dropped as there was no evidence against him. Gurung, it appeared, is still smarting from Lama’s decision to quit the party. Lama, a central committee member, had walked out of the Morcha after his brother’s death. “Amar Lama is not my own brother, or my uncle. He is the blood brother of Madan Tamang. We are all saddened by the Madan Tamang’s killing, which should have never happened. But Amar Lama can’t maintain his silence at a time when our party is being implicated. He must stand up for the party,” Gurung said.

More pleas for safe passage

Aitaraj Dewan

TT, Darjeeling, July 14: Three GNLF leaders who had been hounded out of the hills following the murder of Gorkha Janmukti Morcha member Pramila Sharma in June 2008 have decided to return home.

The move comes five days after the peaceful return of Dawa Pakhrin, a former Kalimpong branch president of the GNLF, to his home.

Pramila was killed allegedly by a bullet fired from the house of Deepak Gurung, the GNLF’s Darjeeling unit president. Following the incident, the houses and vehicles of GNLF leaders, including Gurung and Pakhrin, were torched.

“Aitaraj Dewan, Jigme Sherpa and Tika Khati have written a letter expressing their desire to return home,” said Darjeeling district magistrate Surendra Gupta today.

Dewan, a former DGHC councillor, and Sherpa a former commissioner of the Darjeeling municipality, had been arrested in the Pramila murder case. They were later released on bail. Khati was an active member of the GNLF and also an officer (on contract) with the council’s information and culture department.

The district administration is bound to provide a safe passage to the GNLF leaders and ensure their security following a National Human Rights Commission’s directive to the government. Pakhrin had approached the NHRC, which directed the state on March 4 to ensure the security of all the “affected people” (who had been chased out ) along with him. “Since the direction is for all affected people, we are duty bound to provide a safe passage as and when they decide to come back,” said Gupta.

Arrest warrants

The chief judicial magistrate of Darjeeling has issued arrest warrant against 11 Morcha activists who were allegedly involved in the murder of Madan Tamang on May 21.

The warrants have been issued against Nickole Tamang, Dinesh Gurung, Kismat Chhetri, Keshav Raj Pokhral, Puran Thami, Tenzing Khambachay, Alok Kanti Mani Thulung, Dinesh Subba, Suraj Singh, Devendra Sharma and Sanjoy Tamang. Sources said the arrest warrant was a step towards attaching the properties of the accused.

“Since the offence was cognisable, police can arrest them without a warrant. However, a warrant will be helpful if the accused are to be arrested from other states,” a source said.

The CID, which is investigating the case, had made a prayer to the court saying that the accused could not be arrested despite repeated raids. It is now expected to tell the court to proclaim all the 11 as offenders after which notices will be issued to the accused to surrender before the court. If they fail to surrender, the agency will again pray to the court to attach their immovable properties. The CID has also written to all banks in Darjeeling to provide it with the account numbers of the 11 accused and to freeze them temporarily.

Front mulls inviting tribals to broaden Dooars base

Bharati Tamang addresses the front meeting in Darjeeling on Monday. A file picture

TT, Siliguri, July 14: The Democratic Front today said it might seek the support of the Akhil Bharatiya Adivasi Vikas Parishad to restore peace and democracy in the region, an indication that the anti-Gorkha Janmukti Morcha conglomerate is getting ready to spread its network in the Terai and the Dooars.

The support of the Parishad is important as it is one of the major organisations that represents the tribal population in the foothills, said Dawa Sherpa, the working president of the ABGL and the convener of the front, today.

“We will urge the tribal leaders to decide whether they want to go with a party (read Morcha) that has created terror and tension in the hills or strengthen our hands to restore democracy and peace. There had been some informal talks with the Parishad earlier but so far no formal invitation is being sent to them to join the front,” Sherpa said and added that if the Parishad expressed solidarity with the front, it would be welcomed “heartily”.

The front held its first political meeting in Darjeeling on Monday which was addressed by ABGL president Bharati Tamang.

Another leader of the front hoped that the Parishad might find the hill conglomerate more appropriate and democratic than the Morcha.

“If they (tribal leaders) join hands with the Morcha, they will have to accept Gorkha Adivasi Pradesh which has already created a rift among them. On the other hand, if they join the front, they can carry out their movement for Sixth Schedule as our common agenda does not include Gorkhaland or separate statehood. All the constituent parties have different stands,” the leader said. “If the Parishad becomes a constituent of the front, it will win the front support like we are backing the ABGL over the issue of Madan Tamang’s murder, even though we differ in political stands.”

Govind Chhetri, the organisational head of the CPRM, another front constituent, also hinted at talking to the Parishad leaders. “We will talk to them and want to fight together for restoration of democracy in the hills and peace in the region,” Chhetri said. “The Parishad leaders are divided over extending support to Morcha. We are keeping a close watch over the political developments and may approach them after knowing their final stand.”

The Parishad leaders, however, said they were yet to receive any invitation from the front. “If we receive any correspondence from them, we will definitely give it a thought and discuss at various levels before taking any decision,” said John Barla, the president of the Dooars-Terai Regional Unit of the Parishad.
State, GJMM differ  on DGHC chief
KOLKATA, 14 JULY: The state government has ruled out removing Mr BL Meena as the administrator of Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council (DGHC) before January 2011, even as the Gorkha Jan Mukti Morcha (GJMM) has threatened an intensified agitation in Darjeeling over the issue from 25 July.
Mr Meena was appointed the caretaker administrator of DGHC for a year in January 2009. But a few days before completing his term in January, the officer invited GJMM wrath by accusing the party leadership of wasting funds meant for development projects in the hills.
Since then, GJMM is demanding that Meena be removed from his post as DGHC administrator and that he not be given a further extension under any circumstances. In fact, pressing for the removal of Meena and the SDPO Kurseong, Mr Rakesh Singh, and demanding the resumption of tripartite talks on the Darjeeling imbroglio, the Hill party has convened a 24-hour strike in Darjeeling on 25 July. This would be followed by a 72-hour shutdown from 28 July, while an indefinite closure of government offices  in the hills over these issues is currently in progress. 
However, ignoring the GJMM's shutdown threat, the state government has already extended Meena's term by a year and is in no mood to review the decision. “Meena has been given an extension and his term ends in January 2011,” the state chief secretary, Mr Ardhendu Sen, told The Statesman.
“There is no proposal for removing the current DGHC administrator before his extended term concludes on 31 January next year,” said another highly placed official in the state home department.
This being the case, the GJMM leadership, however, is acting on false information that Meena was granted a six-month extension from this January.
“Meena has completed his extended tenure on 30 June and our demand is that he must not be given any further extension. We are ready to welcome any other officer as the new DGHC administrator,” GJMM assistant general secretary, Mr Binay Tamang, said over the phone.
He warned that if  the officers are not removed immediately and the tripartite parleys are not resumed, the state government would solely stand responsible for Darjeeling going volatile.(Bappaditya Paul , SNS)

Work, stay at single point- Green links houses to factories

A simulated view of the Kanchanjungha Integrated Park at Fatapukur

TT, Siliguri, July 14: A park with industrial and commercial units and residential complexes, swathed in green, is coming up at Fatapukur in Jalpaiguri district.

The Kanchanjungha Integrated Park, a Rs 500-crore project, is being developed on 124.5 acres of land in between Siliguri and Jalpaiguri and is expected to generate jobs for 60,000 skilled and semi-skilled workers. The park is a joint venture between the West Bengal Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (WBIIDC) and Calcutta-based Shristi Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited.

“This is our first venture in north Bengal and this will be a one-of-its-kind project in the sense that it will have well-defined industrial, residential and commercial zones, all in the same area. What prompted us to launch the project here is that Siliguri and Jalpaiguri are growing in terms of industry and infrastructure and NH31D is well-connected by air, rail and road,” said Rahul Verma, president (special initiatives) of Shristi Corporation.

“The location is just an hour away from Calcutta by flight and the New Jalpaiguri station is nearby. Siliguri is a gateway to the Northeast and the park is located close to various export corridors to Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and China,” Verma told journalists during the launch of the project today.

The project, along NH31D, will be completed in three phases in five-seven years. The land is owned by the WBIIDC that has a 26 per cent stake in the park.

“We have earmarked 64 acres of land for industries which will be developed in the first phase. A survey by us has found that the area is suitable for industries like food processing and beverage production, flour and rice mills and ayurveda-based companies. Such industries will co-exist with a residential zone in the park and it is important for the area to be non-polluted,” said Verma. The process of attracting entrepreneurs and investors to the industrial zone has just begun, he added. Fatapukur is 25km from here.

Gautam Malik, the chief executive officer (CEO) of the park, said a 33KV power substation was already there at the site and 80 per cent of the roads had been completed.

“Developed plots with required infrastructure for bungalows will also be completed in the first phase on 31 acres. Row housing and apartments, educational institutes and healthcare facility will be developed in the later phases. The residential area is being built near the industrial zone so that the workforce, whether it is the senior management or mid-level management, can stay within close proximity to the factories,” said Malik.

Around 30 acres of land have been earmarked for a “green area” where roads, recreational parks and water bodies will come up.

“The green area will act as a buffer zone between the factories and the residential zone,” said the CEO. The commercial zone, which will occupy six acres, will comprise offices, retail outlets, and recreation centres.

“Jobs will be generated for at least 60,000 skilled and semi-skilled people during and after the construction stages of the project,” said Malik.

Highway hit by tilted trucks and blockades 

The trucks stuck in gutters at Dalimpur on Wednesday. (Anirban Choudhury)

TT, Alipurduar, July 14: Three trucks loaded with coal tilted on NH31 after being stuck in deep ditches near Falakata this morning, leaving at least 300 vehicles stranded. Another 200 vehicles were blocked by people demanding electricity elsewhere on the highway in the Alipurduar subdivision.

While the trucks were pulled out of the gutters by cranes at Dalimpur at 5pm, the blockade at Kalipur was withdrawn around 3 in the afternoon.

The trucks were going from Assam to Uttar Pradesh when they jumped into deep ditches on the highway at Dalimpur in Falakata block around 5am. The trucks tilted on the road and all efforts to bring the vehicles out the gutters were in vain till this evening. No official from the public works department had reached the spot.

Gyanprit Singh, the driver of one of the trucks, said: “We were going with coal from Jogigopa in Assam to UP. We started last Tuesday and we had already lost three days because of poor condition of road in Assam. We are stuck here again.”

At least 300 vehicles, including buses and cars, were held up at either end of the spot, 44km from here.

Rama Lama and Sita Karji were among 600 people left stranded at Dalimpur. “We were coming from Birpara for BA admission to Falakata College. We reached the college after travelling 25km extra in an auto-rickshaw,” said Karji.

Two cranes were brought to the spot by police, but they failed to pull the vehicles out of the ditches. Later, the coal was unloaded into two other trucks and the three vehicles were lifted. The traffic was cleared around 5pm.

People of Kalipur, about 30km from here, began the blockade on NH31 at 8am. They were demanding electricity in the village. More than 200 vehicles were stopped at both ends of the protest spot, throwing a spanner in the plans of around 400 people. The road is used by vehicles from Alipurduar to reach Siliguri and Jalpaiguri.

Ratan Kundu from Samuktala had an appointment with a private firm. “I have to attend an interview in a private company. But we are stopped here by the protesters. I do not know whether I will be able to attend the interview or not,” said Kundu.

Although police had reached the spot, the protesters said they wanted to talk to civic officials about their demand. The picketing was withdrawn at 3pm after local officials assured the villagers that the government would look into their demand.

Tour agents plan to make monsoon a visit season

‘On-season’ soon: Kanchenjungha as seen from Singalila National Park in Darjeeling district during the monsoon

TT, Siliguri, July 14: Stakeholders of the tourism industry have decided to initiate a host of activities to promote north Bengal and Sikkim as idyllic destinations during the monsoon.

“Although north Bengal, Sikkim and the Northeast have some favourite hotspots for domestic as well as international tourists, the peak tourism period here does not exceed 100 days a year. So, we have felt the need to increase the inflow of visitors and to stretch the season,” said Raj Basu, the president of the Eastern Himalayan Travel and Tour Operators’ Association.

“If something new and unique is offered during the monsoon to attract more people, it will help the industry — right from a porter to a tour operator — earn more. Our plan is to launch a concerted promotional campaign focussing on the monsoon and to obliterate the concept of ‘off season’ as it is known...States like Goa and Kerala have already succeeded in wooing tourists during the rains,” added Basu.

The decision to spearhead the campaign was taken at a meeting of the association here yesterday.

Tour agents said there had been a considerable footfall of tourists in the Dooars and Sikkim this monsoon despite the fact that wildlife sanctuaries and national parks were lshut.

“Many tourists are visiting the hills too during the monsoon months, braving landslides and other inconveniences. So, we thought of approaching the government and other tourism stakeholders to ask them to portray the monsoon as a unique season to visit the region,” said a tour operator.

The association will write to the state government for proper maintenance of roads in the hills.

“All tourism stakeholders in the eastern Himalayas, including the north-eastern states, will be requested to participate in this initiative and to promote ‘east Himalaya monsoon’ by introducing special circuits during the rains. Other associations in the travel industry will also be asked to join us,” said Basu.

During the monsoon, tourists will be offered discounts in hotels, special cuisine and round-the-clock helpline to be run by the tour operators.

On the promotional side, the tour operators are planning to send bulk test messages across India and abroad. Further, they will participate in the Travel and Tourism Fair held in Calcutta every year and invite representatives from Goa and Kerala to make presentations on the monsoon tourism in the two states.

“We will include representatives of the tourism industry from states like Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya and Tripura and countries like Bhutan, Nepal and Bangladesh in the initiative,” said Basu.

“Exhibitions will be held and public domains like websites will be used to promote the monsoon tourism, which if turns out to be a success, will help improve the economic conditions of people working in the tourism sector,” added Basu.

rain treat

• Discounted rates in hotels and tour packages
• Special monsoon recipes
• New destinations
• Festivals
• 24 X 7 monsoon help desk 

Gangtok guitarist dead- PARIKRAMA TRIBUTE TO STEVE NAMCHYO

(Top) Steve Namchyo (right) with Parikrama members and (above) the guitarist at Little Itlay where he played till he was taken ill

TT, Gangtok, July 14: Steve Namchyo, who had founded Route 66, passed away in Siliguri yesterday. The guitarist would have been 41-year-old this August 29.

Namchyo died of severe pneumonia. He had been rushed to a private clinic in Siliguri where both his lungs collapsed, his friends said.

The guitarist who once played for New Delhi-based Parikrama leaves behind wife Pemba and two daughters. The funeral will be held in Gangtok tomorrow.

One of the most gifted guitarists of the hills, Namchyo was born in 1969 in the Sikkim capital. He was a familiar face to anyone here with an ear for melody and an interest in rock music. Namchyo had studied at St Xavier’s School, Pakyong, where he cut his teeth in the local rock scene with Crabh that he founded.

He joined Parikrama in 1994 and was its guitarist for a year. The band has put up a condolence message on its website. “With regret, we announce the sad demise of one of the best musicians this country has ever seen, Mr Steve Namchyo, from Sikkim. Steve was part of the Parikrama in early 90s and will be missed immensely.... May his soul rest in peace,” reads the message.

Parikrama manager Subir Malik said over the phone: “Steve (Namchyo) was a great guitar player and the first thing I remember was that we had asked him to play Panama and he did it perfectly.”

Panama is a score from Van Halen’s album 1984. It was the third single released from that record and is one of their most recognised numbers.

“He used to play extremely well and was very versatile. He did everything on his guitar, usually the job of two or more guitarists. Everybody used to love him and the time he shared with Parikrama was brilliant,” added the manager.

Malik said Namchyo left Parikrama because of commitments back home in Gangtok. After he came back from New Delhi, Namchyo founded County Revival and The ButtHeads before shifting to Kathmandu to play at a hotel.

But he soon returned to Gangtok and started Route 66. Till he was taken ill, Namchyo was a regular performer at Little Italy. Owner Karma Zimba said Route 66 led by Namchyo used to play four days a week at his pub. “Sometimes, they played the entire week.

“Steve was a legend and everybody used to call him Ustaad. All those who learnt guitar from him looked upon him as a father figure. He is part of Sikkim’s history in rock music,” said Zimba. A special prayer in his memory will be held at Little Italy at a later date, Zimba said.

College strike

TT, Jaigaon: The Chhatra Parishad-led student union at Parimal Mitra Smriti Mahavidyalaya in Malbazar called an indefinite strike from Wednesday. Meghashree Sarkar, general secretary of the union, said, more than 1,000 students had applied for a UG course, but only half of them were admitted. The strike was called for all the applicants’ admission.

6 Siliguri footballers invited at Bayern

IE Kolkata:He saw him playing with some local boys at Siliguri’s Kanchenjunga Stadium last year. And he also watched the same footballer, Thomas Mueller from Germany, displaying soccer sorcery in the just concluded World Cup in South Africa.

But never did 16-year-old Nishan Toppo, son of a north Bengal tea garden worker, think he would be training at the football ground in Germany where Bayern Munich superstar Mueller plays.

Toppo and five others — Sanjib Kerketta, Dipu Burman, Liton Sil, Amit Thakuri and Avishek Chetri — all coming from the lowest economic strata of society in north Bengal, will participate in a nine-day football camp organised by the celebrated German club at Munich, starting from August 15.

The invitation came to West Bengal Urban Development Minister Ashok Bhattacharya from Martin Hagele, head of the German club’s International Division.

All expenses for their stay in Munich will be borne by the club, which selected them after a youngsters’ training session at Siliguri, said Bhattacharya, a patron of Siliguri Sports Academy of which the youngsters are members.

Bhattacharya, who himself is from Siliguri, added that the Academy plans to give Mueller a civic reception and he will soon write to him about this. “It will be done as per the star’s convenience,” the minister said.

'Bikini killer' Sobhraj's fate put off till July 30

IANS, Kathmandu: While the rest of his family and friends celebrated Bastille Day in Paris, Charles Sobhraj had the walls of the Kathmandu prison close in on him again Wednesday as the Supreme Court again put off his appeal on a murder sentence.

The two judges of Nepal's Supreme Court hearing his appeal against the 20-year life term slapped on him in 2004 sought more time to pronounce their judgment, saying they had not been able to sift through the written arguments and accompanying documents tabled by the prosecution as well as Sobhraj's lawyers.

Judges Ram Prasad Shah and Gouri Dhakal have now postponed the verdict to July 30. This is the third time since Sobhraj took his appeal to the apex court that the verdict was postponed. During its passage from the district court to the top court, it was halted interminably due to deaths, general strikes, a royal coup and curfew and weddings.

The morning had started on a hopeful note for Sobhraj's extended family in Kathmandu who had hoped the court would deliver its final verdict, for better or worse. "There's no loophole left now for the judges to refer the case to lower courts and there's no evidence to support s guilty verdict," said an optimistic Nihita Biswas, Sobhraj's fiancée, who had been attending the trial faithfully with her brother Vijay.

Nihita was referring to the earlier postponements after the judges asked the lower courts to reopen a dismissed forged passport case for a decisive answer on whether Sobhraj had come to Nepal in 1975 and murdered Connie Jo Bronzich, an American tourist with a taste for adventure and drugs.

The announcement left Nihita speechless. There was no immediate reaction from Sobhraj, who was not present in court, preferring to wait for the news in his cell at the Central Jail in Kathmandu. The resurrection of the 1975 murder has been probably the most sensational Nepal has ever witnessed.

In December 1975, two badly charred bodies were found in different parts of Kathmandu valley. The body of the woman, who was first stabbed to death, was identified as that of Bronzich, whose husband and boyfriends had died under violent circumstances in the US.

The second body, that of a male, could not be identified. Police conjectured it could have been that of a Canadian tourist, Laurent Armand Carriere, who had shacked up with Bronzich in Kathmandu. Police say Sobhraj came to Nepal from Bangkok same year, befriended Bronzich for some gems she had bought in India and killed her.

Sobhraj says he never came to Nepal before 2003, when he arrived as a bona fide entrepreneur to explore various ventures, ranging from making documentaries for his Paris-based Gentleman Films company to starting a mineral water business.

On Sep 17, 16 days after his arrival, a local daily carried his photograph, which alerted the police who traced him to a casino and arrested him. Initially, police charged him with having come to Nepal in 1975 on a forged passport. But as the court acquitted him, he was re-arrested from the court premises and charged with the murder of Bronzich.

Sobhraj says after arresting him in 2003, police held him incommunicado for two days. During the time, under the pretext of examining some documents, they made him write several pages. "Later, they used part of that writing to forge the so-called evidence," he says.

In 2005, the Patan Appellate Court upheld the guilty verdict, the first time ever he was convicted of murder though there were allegations that he had killed between 12 to 32 people in various Asian countries.

Since 2006, he has been appealing against the sentence in Nepal's Supreme Court. The trial generated fresh interest worldwide after he became engaged in 2008 to Nihita, 44 years his junior and the daughter of his lawyer Shakuntala Thapa.

Sobhraj, confident that he would be acquitted, had plans to visit the gurdwara in Lalitpur town to offer a thanksgiving. His business partner, French lawyer and other associates were to have arrived in Kathmandu Thursday to escort him safely back to Paris since he said he feared for his life.

Now, like twice before, the plans and flights will have to be rescheduled. Thapa said their double campaign for justice will receive a boost end of this month. In March 2009, Sobhraj's French lawyer Isabelle Coutant-Peyre filed a complaint with the UN Human Rights Committee, saying Sobhraj was imprisoned in Nepal without a fair trial and on forged documents.

The Human Rights Court in Geneva will start hearing the complaint from July 25.