Gorkhaland agitation: WB Police claim GJM hiring foreign Maoists to help prep for armed movement

West Bengal police have said the Gorkha Janamukti Morcha are preparing for a prolonged underground armed movement for a separate state, and are taking the help of "Maoists from neighbouring countries"to do so.

The police said the GJM is hiring the Maoists to train their cadres.

"We have inputs from intelligence agencies that Maoists from neighbouring countries have been hired by the GJM. And it may target government properties and senior police and administrative officials so as to further aggravate the situation," PTI quoted ADG (Law and order) Anuj Sharma as saying.

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PTI added that the GJM leadership has refuted the police's allegations as "completely baseless".

"These are completely baseless statements. These statements are being made to malign us and derail the democratic movement," it quoted GJM general secretary Roshan Giri as saying.

But it added that a senior official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the GJM had hired 25-30 Maoists mercenaries to train its cadres.

"The GJM has a huge cache of arms and ammunition. They have stockpiled arms for the last few years. And we have intelligence reports that they are preparing for underground armed movement in the hills," it quoted the official as saying.

It added that another senior official said the government is "prepared for any situation and steps are being taken to tackle any sort of armed struggle".