Weapons recovered during police raid at Gorkha Janmukti Morcha office.
Amid ongoing political crisis in the Darjeeling hills, police on Thursday raided Gorkha Janamukti Morcha (GJM) chief Bimal Gurung's house cum office and recovered a huge cache of weapons.
During the raids, police recovered bow guns, arrows, explosives and daggers. The area has been cordoned off.
"To protest against police atrocities there will be an indefinite strike at the hills," said GJM leader Binoy Tamang.
GJM leaders also claim that the bows and arrows were kept for a traditional competition and police have portrayed it in a different manner.
Meanwhile, Morcha leader Karuna Gurung has been arrested from her Kurseong residence.
The crisis took a new turn on Wednesday with the GNLF breaking its alliance with the TMC after having joined hands with agitation spearhead GJM.
Emboldened by the Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF) aligning with his party, Bimal Gurung has threatened to intensify the movement for a separate Gorkhaland even as the indefinite shutdown in the government and the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) offices entered its fourth day.
The GNLF, formed by the late firebrand leader Subhash Ghisingh, had led a violent movement for Gorkhaland in the eighties, following which the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council (DGHC) was formed.
Gurung broke away from the GNLF and formed the GJM in 2007 and subsequently emerged as the dominant force in the hills.
Most of the tourists have left the hills and hotels were empty. Hotel owners told the tourists, who still remained, that they could stay, but at their own risk.
The Rapid Action Force (RAF) and a sizeable number of women police personnel were also deployed.
The Centre has despatched 600 paramilitary personnel to assist the West Bengal government restore normalcy in the violence-hit area.
(With inputs from West Bengal correspondent Arshad Ali)
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 "Weapons recovered from Bimal Gurung's house cum office")
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