Police launch a FIR in Rai murder case

Darjeeling. Police have launched a man hunt for the four persons named in the FIR in connection with the murder of one Dil Kumar Rai in Singla on the Sikkim-West Bengal border, around 25 km from Darjeeling town, on Wednesday night. Rai was named in the CID charge sheet in connection with the Madan Tamang murder case. 36 year old Rai's dead body bore marks of pellet injuries from an improvised gun and fatal injury marks from sharp weapons. "At around 8 pm the police were informed that a person had been murdered at Goredhura near the Singla Tea Estate.

We immediatelysent a police team and managed to recover the body" stated Kunal Agarwal, Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP,) Darjeeling. Initially there were no suspects. The murder weapons have also not been recovered. Later Dil Chandra Rai, elder brother of the murdered lodged an FIR naming one Bhim Kush Subba, his two sons Nippo and Nischal along with one Deven Subba of the same area. All four are absconding. After the incident two houses belonging to Bhim Khush Subba's family were torched. "On interrogation of people from the locality it seems prima facie that the murder was owing to personal enmity and not political in nature" added the ASP. Police sources state that the deceased had had a scuffle with Nippo and Nischal Subba in the morning.

He was attacked and then murdered in front of Bhim Khush Subba's residence in Goredhura at around 6:30pm. The accused have been charged under Section 302 (murder) and Section 34 (Acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention) IPC Read With Sections 25 and 27 of the Arms Act. Incidentally All India Gorkha League (AIGL) leader Madan Tamang was hacked to death on May 21, 2010, by an armed mob at around 9:20 am at the Upper Clubside Stand in Darjeeling town while overseeing preparations for a public meeting. CID initially investigating the case had file the charge sheet naming 30 persons and 61 witnesses on August 30, 2010.

Rai's name featured in the charge sheet. 8 people named in the charge sheet have already been arrested while remaining (excluding Rai) are absconding. Police had conducted several raids at Dil Kumar Rai's house in Singla but failed to nab him. Rai had been absconding since then. The Madan Tamang murder case was later handed over to the CBI by the Calcutta High Court. The CBI was scheduled to apprise the High Court on the progress in investigations on December 22, 2011 but as it did not figure in the list the hearing did not take place. It is expected to take place in January 2012.

(Source - Hindustan Times)