Nepal Maoists dismiss reports on their involvement in Tamang's killing

Nepal's Maoist party has dismissed as "hypothetical" and "baseless" media reports about its involvement in the killing of Gorkha leader Madan Tamang in Darjeeling in West Bengal.

"We strongly denounce such an ill-intentioned, hypothetical and baseless charges and news reports," CPN (Maoists) spokesperson Dina Nath Sharma said in a statement.

He said the party was shocked by the murder of Tamang, a good friend of Nepal, who was "leading a just movement against national oppression and for national identity."

Sharma was reacting to media reports which said Bimal Gurung, chairperson of the Gorkha Janamukti Morcha, had accused the government of West Bengal for murdering Tamang, hiring Nepalese Maoists.

Tamang was on Friday stabbed to death by unidentified assailants in Darjeeling town.    

Sharma also asked the "government concerned to guarantee the safety and rights of Nepali-speaking Indian nationals" in the wake of the killing of Nepali origin people in Meghalaya by some ethnic groups.

"We have repeatedly spoken against the oppression of Nepalese speaking people living in the North-Eastern region of India and for their linguistic and national rights," the statement said.