Lopsang Lama (Yolmo), the working president of Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (Bimal Gurung camp) and purportedly an aspirant of the party for the Kalimpong Assembly seat, was arrested from Namchi in Sikkim on Wednesday.
Sikkim police arrested Yolmo under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act but did not divulge specifics. Prawin Gurung, spokesperson of Sikkim police, confirmed the arrest.
Sikkim’s political eco-system is largely considered to be aligned to the BJP. Bimal Gurung recently dumped the BJP and joined hands with Trinamul in poll-bound Bengal.
“Against the backdrop of Bimal Gurung now supporting Trinamul, the arrest of one of his leaders, Yolmo, from Sikkim is significant,” said an observer, who saw in the development a “significant political message” ahead of the crucial Assembly polls.
“It could be a message that things are not easy for Gurung,” said an observer.
“Lopsang Lama (Yolmo) has been arrested in a case related to the Pocso Act and will be produced in court within 24 hours of the arrest,” said Sikkim police spokesperson and DIG (range) Gurung.
A senior leader from the Bimal Gurung camp confirmed to this paper that Yolmo was one of the party's aspirants from Kalimpong. The arrest had “surprised them”, he added.
Roshan Giri, the general secretary of the Morcha (Bimal Gurung camp), refused to comment. “I, too, have just heard about the arrest but since I am not aware of the details, I am not in a position to comment,” he said.
Yolmo, who runs an educational institution in Namchi, Sikkim, was the deputy chairman of Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) Sabha when Gurung was at the helm of GTA and is also the current working president of the party. He was also the elected GTA Sabha member from constituency 45 of Kalimpong.
Bengal police had earlier alleged that Sikkim had provided a safe haven to Gurung, who was “underground” for three years since the Gorkhaland agitations in 2017.
But that was when Gurung was a BJP ally. In fact, a raid had also been conducted in Namchi (Sikkim) during the 2017 hill agitation in Sikkim. Gurung surfaced in Calcutta in October 2020 as a Trinamul ally and since then has blasted the BJP in public meetings. Yolmo’s arrest is seen by many as proof of repercussions with the change in political equations.