S S Ahluwalia
A probe has been initiated by police and CID against Inspector-in-charge (IC) of Darjeeling Sadar police station Soumyajit Roy for allegedly threatening a GJM cadre. The move comes a day after Darjeeling MP SS Ahluwalia wrote to Home Minister Rajnath Singh demanding that the NIA probe a viral audio clip in which “the IC is heard threatening the GJM activist with burning down his house and raping his mother and sister”.
Meanwhile, Achutram Bhattarai, the GJM member who was allegedly threatened, filed a complaint with the Darjeeling superintendent of police (SP) claiming that Roy had called and threatened him for supporting the Gorkhaland movement.
In the clip, a man, alleged to be Roy, is heard threatening Bhattarai in abusive language. Speaking in Hindi, the male voice is heard referring to the burning of numerous houses during the Gorkhaland agitation last year. Sources said the man is heard saying, “If you have a problem, your house will be added to the list of houses that were burnt down.”
When asked, “Are you a police officer or a goon?”, the man responds saying, “I will rape your sister and mother.” The authenticity and context of the clip is yet to be ascertained, said police.
Bhattarai had filed a complaint at the local police station and also sent an email with his complaint letter to Union Minister of Women and Child Development Maneka Gandhi and Ahluwalia.
“An audio message was doing the rounds in which a man was heard abusing another person. It was alleged that the man who was abusing, was a police officer. An inquiry has been initiated,” Darjeeling SP Akhilesh Chaturvedi told The Indian Express.
Ahluwalia’s letter to Rajnath reads, “Recently a conversation between a GJM cadre Achutam Bhattarai and Inspector-in-charge of Darjeeling Sadar police station Saumyajit Roy has gone viral…in which the IC is heard threatening the GJM activist with burning down his house and raping his mother and sister. The clip has left my constituents incensed, I have received numerous calls and emails requesting that Government of India must take this matter up with the Bengal government at the earliest.”
The letter further says, “Citing various acts of arson and violence, the West Bengal police has booked NDA ally GJM’s chief Bimal Gurung and hundreds of his followers under UAPA and other sections. Hence, given the confession of IC Darjeeling caught on tape it is imperative that all these cases filed in relation to the Darjeeling bandh be investigated by an independent agency such as NIA, since the local law and enforcement agencies under the control of West Bengal government seem to be the ones perpetrating such acts.”
Asked if action had been taken against Roy, a Darjeeling police officer said, “We have to first verify whose voice it is. Probe is on.”