A city court on Thursday discharged GJM chief Bimal Gurung in the Madan Tamang murder case while directing that charges be framed against 47 other accused.

The Sessions Court discharged Gurung from the sensational case of the murder of the Akhil Bharatiya Gorkha League President seven years back, turning down the Central Bureau of Investigation’s plea that Gurung was part of the conspiracy.

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During the hearing, Gurung’s counsel had claimed that the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha chief was at Kalimpong on the day of the incident.

“Bimal Gurung has been discharged from the case as the court might have found something owing to his non-involvement in the murder. However it has directed that charges be framed against 47 other accused and asked the CBI to prepare the charge sheet,” said the counsel appointed by the slain leader’s family.

“However, nothing has been decided about whether we would appeal the High Court against this verdict or not,” he added.

The CBI had sought permission from the court to frame charges against all the accused including Gurung, his wife Asha Gurung, GJM Assistant General Secretary Benoy Tamang, Pradeep Pradhan and Jan Andolan Party head Harka Bahadur Chettri for murder and criminal conspiracy in the case.

Tamang was attacked with sharp weapons when he was overseeing preparations for a public meeting in Darjeeling town on May 21, 2010, and taken to hospital where doctors declared him dead.