Tamang case: action after post-mortem report, say police

The Delhi police on Monday recorded the statement of late singer Prashant Tamang’s wife and announced that further action, including a probe, will be considered based on the awaited post-mortem reports.

The move comes after a private hospital in Janakpuri informed the police that Tamang was “brought dead” to the hospital. The singer, who gained fame after winning Indian Idol Season 3, passed away in Delhi on Sunday, an officer said, adding that all potential angles are being examined as part of the inquiry.

“The family members have said they do not suspect any foul play,” the officer said.

Meanwhile, the mortal remains of Tamang was taken to his native place in West Bengal’s Darjeeling district. Before participating in Indian Idol, Tamang was employed with Kolkata Police and his victory in the reality show transformed the political consciousness of the hill district.

An official said his last rites would be held with full honours as directed by the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA).

Contribution to politics

Calling his death an irreplaceable loss for the hills, B.K. Ghisingh, assistant director of the information and cultural affairs department of the GTA, said arrangements were being made to receive Tamang’s body “with dignity befitting a legend who carried Darjeeling to the world stage”. “He was not just a singer. He became the voice and identity of Darjeeling,” Mr. Ghisingh said.

During his stint at the reality show, millions of votes mobilised from across the Darjeeling hills and beyond contributed to Tamang’s popularity and he became a symbol of Gorkha pride and culture.

The cultural networks and fan clubs that sprang up around the campaign gradually morphed into organised political units.

Bimal Gurung, who was at the forefront of mobilising public support for Tamang, deftly channelled this surge of popular sentiment into a political force, a momentum that eventually dislodged veteran leader and Gorkha National Liberation Front leadder Subash Ghisingh from the centre of power and ushered in a new political order in the Darjeeling hills.

Darjeeling BJP MLA Neeraj Zimba said Tamang’s journey had united people across political and social divides.

“His rise was a moment when the hills spoke in one voice. That legacy will endure,” he said.

(With inputs from PTI)