Gorkhaland movement leader reportedly abducted in Kathmandu

A leader of the Gorkhaland movement, Sanjay Thulung, has reportedly been abducted from his relative’s home in Kathmandu, with Nepal Police saying a formal complaint has been lodged regarding the matter.

According to The Kathmandu Post, a leading English language newspaper, Thulung, a board member of the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) and member of the Gorkha Janamukti Morcha (GJM) youth organization, was whisked away by a group of unidentified persons from the home of his relative at Basundhara on the outskirts of Kathmandu on Tuesday.

After a prolonged period of unrest in Darjeeling, Thulung fled to Nepal some two months ago and started living with another relative in Dharan, an eastern city. He had arrived in Katmandu last week.

The current whereabouts of Thulung is not known, the news report said.

The Post quoted Thulung’s Kathmandu-based relatives as saying that some unidentified persons had called his aunt-in-law, Sabita Rai Mukhiya, and arranged a meeting on the pretext of handing over some items purportedly sent from Qatar by her brother.

However, when Mukhiya reached the rendezvous site, the persons took hold of her and demanded that she call Thulung.

The persons forced Mukhiya into a car and pressured her to take them to the house where Thulung was staying. They also told her that they belonged to security agencies but did not identify themselves, the report said.

Mukhiya told police the persons were armed with modern weapons and drove her through various parts of the city until she agreed to take them to Thulung. They then threw her out of the car and abducted Thulung, she told the police in a complaint.

Police said a formal complaint has been registered and officials denied Nepal Police was in any way involved in the alleged abduction. Thulung’s relatives have approached Nepal Police and other security agencies for help and held meetings with top political leaders.

Indian authorities had been looking for Thulung following the arrest of two persons with a cache of weapons at Dimapur in Nagaland in November 2014. The arrested persons had given a statement that the weapons allegedly belonged to Thulung.

Indian police have accused Thulung of trying to launch an armed movement and sending 15 people for arms training with a militant group in Nagaland.