Office strike off from Monday

A prayer meet for Gorkhaland in Darjeeling. (Suman Tamang)
July 16: The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha today announced that the indefinite strike in all government offices across the Darjeeling hills would be lifted on Monday, throwing open to a Czech scientist and his companion the chance to explore legal options and apply for bail once again.

However, those offices that collect taxes will continue to remain closed, Morcha president Bimal Gurung said in Darjeeling.

In Writers Buildings, home secretary Asok Mohan Chakrabarti said a Calcutta High Court order asking hill courts to reopen has been sent to the district judge in Darjeeling and police. “The DGHC offices are shut, development work and important projects are on hold. Funds of Rs 121 crore to be spent on the region’s development remains untouched. A special audit was suspended. How long can this go on?” asked Chakrabarti.

Last week, the bench of Chief Justice S.S Nijjar and Justice P.C. Ghosh while directing the government to ensure that courts in Darjeeling functioned normally had observed that they were aware of two Czech nationals waiting to move bail petitions.

The bail plea of entomologist Petr Svacha and Emil Kucera was rejected on June 23 by the chief judicial magistrate’s court in Darjeeling and since then the two have been lodged in the correctional home in the hill town. Svacha and Kucera were arrested for allegedly collecting beetles from the Singalila Wildlife Sanctuary without proper documents. With no one to move the bail plea for a second time because of a ceasework called by lawyers, Svacha spoke for the duo on July 7, the same day the Morcha called for the shut down of all government offices.

For the Czechs, the biggest stumbling block since then had been the inaccessibility to records because of the absence of clerical staff in the closed courts. The closed courts prompted 70 undertrials lodged in the correctional hope to threaten to go on an indefinite fast.

“Our agitation has to be peaceful and it should not inconvenience the public,” Gurung said today. However, offices of the motor vehicles, land and land reforms, electricity and telephone, income tax and commercial/sales tax will remain shut.

There is a possibility that the lawyers, too, might end their agitation. Rajesh Chhetri, a member of the delegation that is in Calcutta to find out if the government is planning to shift the district and session court from Darjeeling to Siliguri, said over the phone: “The home secretary has assured us that there will be no such move.”

Chakrabarti said the talk about the shift was “just a rumour”.