Was not in Gangtok on the alleged day: Khaling

Khaling to file defamation case against SNS leadership
GANGTOK,: Chief Minister’s political secretary Jacob Khaling on Monday said he is filing a defamation case within a week against the Sikkimey Nagarik Samaj (SNS) leadership. He also dismissed the allegations coming from SNS over a purported letter FIR of molestation as lies and a political conspiracy to silence him.
SNS spokesperson Passang Sherpa had last week disclosed a purported letter FIR mailed to Sikkim Police wherein Khaling had been accused of molesting a lady at his official residence, VIP Colony in Gangtok. The alleged incident had taken place at around 11:15 am of November 11, 2020, as per the said letter.
Addressing a press meet here, Khaling countered that he was not in Gangtok on November 11, 2020 and as such, the allegations in the letter of him molesting a lady at his VIP Colony official residence were false. “The truth is that I was not even in Gangtok on the said date and time. I had left Gangtok on November 10 itself and was in Soreng the whole day on November 11 for a SKM youth coordination meeting of three constituencies,” he said.
Khaling produced videos and reports of social media with the timeline of November 11, 2020 which showed he was in Soreng welcoming the guests and attending the daylong party programme. The programme had Lok Sabha MP Indra Hang Subba, cabinet ministers and MLAs along with SKM workers.
Khaling also showed copies of local newspapers which had covered the Soreng meeting of November 11 and recorded his presence in form of reports and photos. The media reports clearly proves that I was in Soreng on November 11, 2020 the whole day and reduces the allegations made by SNS as lies and an attempt to defame me and our party, he said.
The Chief Minister’s political secretary shared that he filed a complaint at Gangtok Sadar police station on Sunday against SNS senior office-bearers Bharat Basnett, Tseten Tashi Bhutia, Passang Sherpa, Sonam Sherpa and others.
“My complaint was recorded as a general diary as complaints of such nature has to be made in the court. Within this week, I will go to the court and seek strictest possible punishment against them. I will consult with my legal team regarding what punishment and damages I should seek. The SNS may claim that they did not name the victim but such feeble grounds would not save them,” said Khaling. He also sought immediate police action against the SNS leadership based on the complaint made by Doncee Lama.
The name of Doncee Lama, a Gangtokian, had been written in the alleged FIR letter mailed to the SP (East) as the complainant. She dismissed the letter as fake and gave a clean chit to Khaling in a press meet on Sunday. She has filed a criminal case in Gangtok Sadar police station against the SNS.
I appeal that Doncee Lama must get justice and police should take strongest action against the SNS regarding the fake FIR allegations, said Khaling.
Khaling, also the SKM spokesperson, reiterated that the fake FIR and its allegations were an attempt by Passang and others to politically silence him.
“Passang through SNS and ‘I am Article 371F’ campaign have been making baseless allegations and propaganda against our leader and SKM government on various issues. I have always countered and ended their allegations in a single press conference. They had no replies on my counters and people stopped believing them. Seeing that their political shop is winding up, they decided to attack me personally with a conspiracy to silence me,” Khaling said.