Delhi call before seal on deal - gurung off to tie up loose ends .. Chhatrey ill ...

The Gorkha delegates in Darjeeling on Sunday. Picture by Suman Tamang

Vivek Chhetri, TT, Darjeeling, Oct. 31: Bimal Gurung today dashed off to Delhi following “an emergency” call from the home ministry for a meeting, purportedly to tie up all loose ends before an agreement on the interim set-up is sealed in the next political-level discussion.

The Morcha has also asked its local units in the hills to be “on alert” for the next 48 hours, hinting that some major decisions could be taken in the capital tomorrow.

The party president’s sudden decision to skip a meeting with Gorkha delegates, who have arrived here from across the country, and instead leave for Delhi with general secretary Roshan Giri and central committee member Jyoti Kumar Rai has come as a surprise to many local leaders.

The Telegraph had earlier reported that a backstage negotiation on the interim set-up was probably on and that resolution of certain contentious issues related to the set-up was not going to be limited to tripartite meetings alone. Gurung’s confidence that the agreement would be signed in the next political-level meeting itself was a hint of a backstage deal.

Under the circumstances where at least four major issues are yet to be resolved, the possibility of sealing a deal in such a short span is highly unlikely unless a back stage negotiation is on.

“We have a meeting at the ministry of home affairs tomorrow,” said Giri today while on his way to Delhi.

Binay Tamang, an assistant secretary of the Morcha, said in Darjeeling later in the day that a party delegation left for Delhi because of some political developments. “They were called by the ministry of home affairs and it was an emergency. We will organise massive rallies in Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Kurseong and the Dooars and Terai from 1pm to 4pm tomorrow. We urge our local units to remain on alert for the next 48 hours,” said Tamang, heightening the suspense over Gurung’s Delhi visit.

Although Tamang refused to elaborate, observers believe that the need for the party’s local units to remain on the alert is probably because Gurung will have to take crucial decisions in Delhi tomorrow. So far, the issues of territorial jurisdiction of the interim set-up, mode of selection of the interim council and the transfer of the tauzi department and the legislative powers of the new authority have remained unresolved.

“Efforts are on to sign the agreement on the set-up in the next political-level talks which the Union government wants to be a mere ceremonial affair with all the issues resolved beforehand,” said a well-informed source.

Gurung had earlier hinted that a joint verification committee comprising the Centre, state and the Morcha could be formed to solve the territory issue. The committee could submit its report by 2011 following which, areas dominated by the Nepali-speaking population in the Dooars would be incorporated in the new administrative arrangement.

In Darjeeling, the Morcha today formed an ad hoc national committee.
KalimNews: Subhas Ghising has declared to start agitation. He has time and again said that sixth schedule is the only solution for Gorkha demand. In the hills the tendency to change party has started. Reports of CPRM supporters leaving their party and joining GJMM is received. In another case GJMM supporters joined ABGL.  

Mob scare for smut clip accuesed

Anindya on the court campus on Sunday. Picture by Kundan Yolmo

TT, Siliguri, Oct. 31: Polytechnic student Anindya Garai was today remanded in police custody for six days even as more than 100 people cutting across party lines demonstrated on the court campus, baying for his blood.

The police remand comes more than a month after Anindya’s girlfriend filed an FIR accusing him of circulating among friends an MMS on their intimate moments. The cops have been accused of ignoring the complaint, prompting the girl to commit suicide.

This morning more than 30 personnel from Siliguri police and the Darjeeling district commando force struggled to keep the mob from laying hands on Anindya when he was brought to court.

Sanghita Mukherjee, the additional chief judicial magistrate in-charge, ordered the police remand for six days. Siliguri police had pleaded for seven days.

“The police wanted to take him into their custody for further interrogation. As the youth has circulated the MMS clips in Bankura and Burdwan as well, the police will now take him to those areas for further investigation,” said Sudip Roy Basunia, the public prosecutor.

Anindya, who was arrested from Burdwan yesterday, had been on the run since the FIR was filed on September 18. The girl, too, had been a student of Siliguri Government Polytechnic, where Anindya is a third-year architecture student. The principal of the college had said last week that a decision had been taken to expel him.

Some of the IPC sections under which Anindya has been booked are 376 (rape), 306 (abetment to suicide), 420 (cheating and dishonesty) and 328 (causing hurt by means of poison etc with intend to commit an offence). He has been also booked under the IT act.

The police said Anindya was tracked through his cellphone. The owner of a cellphone store, Tapas Singha Roy, had been arrested earlier and is suspected to have helped Anindya make the clip. Ayan Sarkar, another suspect, too, has been picked up.

“A hunt is on for cafes where such illegal activities are taking place. We are also taking help from the CID,” said D.P. Singh, the Darjeeling police chief.

Road mishap

TT, Jalpaiguri: Twenty-two people were injured when a pick-up van fell on its side near Kranti in Malbazar on Sunday evening. Police said the vehicle was returning from Odlabari to Kranti. The injured have been admitted to the Jalpaiguri district hospital.

Chhatrey ill

TT, Jalpaiguri: Chhatrey Subba, who has been lodged in the Jalpaiguri jail since 2003 for his alleged involvement in the assassination attempt on GNLF chief Subash Ghisingh, was admitted to the Jalpaiguri district hospital on Sunday evening after he started bleeding from his urinary track. The doctor who attended to Chhatrey said his condition was stable.

Preach tour for band 

- on rock mission

Nitish Pires in his van in Gangtok on Saturday. Picture by Prabin Khaling

TT, Gangtok, Oct. 31: Mumbai-based rocker Nitish Pires is in Gangtok as part of a countrywide trip to preach the need to promote Indian rock bands and to create publicity for his upcoming Hindi album, Chauraha.

Pires had hit the long road in Mumbai on August 10 on his personal mission to change the way the Indian rock outfits are treated by music companies and to create publicity for the 12-track Chauraha of his band, De Nitish Pires Band.

A series of frustrating experiences he had with record companies to launch his earlier two albums had prompted the 30-year-old Mumbaikar to go on the all-India trip.

“Poor responses from music companies made me angry. The companies believe there is no market for Indian rock music. I then decided to go on an India tour to make way for the Indian rock in whatever way I can,” Pires told journalists from his large van parked at Old Children Park here.

Pires started planning the trip in mid-2009, sold his assets, raised funds and bought the van for Rs 8 lakh and set up a public address system in the vehicle, before setting out the journey. “I had only Rs 2,000 at the time,” said Pires.

After impromptu gigs in Pune, Goa, Bangalore, Mysore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Nagur, Calcutta, Shillong and Darjeeling, Pires reached MG Marg here on Tuesday. He headed straight to Café Live and Loud and introduced himself to the management, which resulted in shows at the pub, MG Marg and Little Italy.

Explaining the rationale behind the trouble of taking such a long tour, Pires said: “I want to inspire kids and tell them that everything is possible in life. If you have a dream, don’t give it up. I want to inspire young bands and tell them not to stop even if they get poor response from music companies. They can go independent,” he said.

“I also want the music companies to encourage the Indian rock bands. There are many talented musicians who are depressed because of the sorry attitude of the music companies,” said Pires.

The singer said Chauraha contains 12 songs penned by him, narrating the life of an individual who took a wrong road. Pires will leave for north India tomorrow, making pit stops in Dehradun, Delhi, Chandigarh and Ahmedabad, before reaching Mumbai.

Trawler capsize- 100+ missing 25 dead

IBNS,Kolkata, Oct 31 : While 25 bodies were recovered an unspecified number remained missing  in the trawler capsize near Ghoramara island, about 100 km south of Kolkata in Sagar region of the Sundarbans in the Bay of Bengal on Saturday, said police on Sunday.

According to unconfirmed reports, the number of missing could be more than 100.
Police said 18 bodies, including those of  children and women, were recovered, but many remained untraced. 
Rescue operation has started since morning after suspension during the night, but no body was found.
The trawler on way to Kakdwip in South 24 Parganas from Hijli Sharif in East Midnapore was carrying between 150 and 200 people, mostly pilgrims, when it capsized around 11 am under the impact of the wash of a big passing ship, an initial report said.
West Bengal Sundarbans Affairs Minister Kanti Ganguly said every effort was being made to recover the bodies or locate any possible survivor.
The assistance of the Indian Navy was sought for rescue operation.
The injured were taken to hospital in Kakdwip.
Helicopter was  also pressed into service, reports said.
Union Minister of State for Shipping and Trinamool Congress MP Mukul Roy reached near the spot.