Bimal Gurung suspended; Binay Tamang replaces him as GJM chief

The general committee of the Gorkha Janamukti Morcha (GJM) on Monday suspended party president Bimal Gurung for six months and appointed Binay Tamang as the new party president.

The general committee meeting was chaired by Binay Tamang.

Gurung's wife, Asha, who is the chief of the GJM Mahila Morcha and party general secretary Roshan Giri, along with 14 other leaders, has also been suspended.

The absconding GJM president has been out of public sight since June, and has been booked under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), in connection with a grenade attack on the Kalimpong Police Station, and a bomb attack in Darjeeling's Chowk Baazaar area.

Last month, seven companies of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and three companies of the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB), which are deployed in Darjeeling and Kalimpong, were withdrawn. Prior to this, the entire region was witnessing an indefinite shutdown over the demand of a separate Gorkhaland.