Hills shutdown after foot hills clash

Hills shutdown after foothills clash
Gorkha Ex-Servicemen Battle Police After Statehood Rally Is Blocked In Siliguri
Deep Gazmer & Pinak Priya Bhattacharya TNN
Siliguri/Darjeeling: Some 2,000 Gorkha ex-servicemen descended from the Hills in support of Gorkhaland and clashed with police when stopped at Darjeeling More on Wednesday. They ransacked police vehicles and shops and fought a pitched battle with the cops. At least 35 persons were injured, including policemen, ex-servicemen and photographers, who were admitted to hospitals and nursing homes in Siliguri. Around 40 people were arrested. In protest, Gorkha Janmukti Morcha called a 24-hour bandh in Darjeeling district, including Siliguri, on Thursday. Greater Cooch Behar Democratic Party (GCDP) — the political wing of Greater Cooch Behar People’s Association — and Kamtapur Progressive Party have supported the bandh. “The situation is under control as of now. But we’ve deployed additional forces,” said Darjeeling district magistrate Rajesh Pandey. The incident occurred a day before the CPM-run Siliguri civic body called a mass convention against GJM’s demand for statehood. Flaunting banners of the GJM-affiliated Bharatiya Gorkha Bhutpurwa Sainik, the demonstrators assembled at Darjeeling More, Bagdogra and Pradhannagar for a ‘peace rally’ to Hasim Chowk via Hill Cart Road, Siliguri’s lifeline. On being tipped off, the Siliguri police put up barricades at all entry points, stopping the agitators from entering the town. Trouble broke out when GJM supporters broke through the barricades and clashed with the police. “It was a peaceful rally. But CPM cadres, in connivance with the administration, tried to disrupt it,” GJM secretary Roshan Giri said from Siliguri. Police denied the charge, saying the demonstrators sparked trouble by pelting stones. The cops then resorted to a lathi charge and burst tear gas shells to disperse the mob, but that proved inadequate. The mob chased the cops and ransacked police vehicles. “One of our officers was dragged into the crowd by GJM supporters, leading to violence,” the DM said. According to Pandey, the Gorkha ex-servicemen had planned the rally without permission. “We knew the rally wouldn’t be a peaceful one, so we withheld permission. The organizers had told us only ex-servicemen would take out the rally. In reality, about 60% of the crowd comprised people from different places,” the DM said. As soon as the news spread in the Hills, GJM supporters forced shops to down shutters. Later, at a joint press conference of the three parties who backed the bandh, GJM chief Bimal Gurung attacked municipal affairs minister Asok Bhattacharya for using cops against “our legitimate cause”. CPM cadres behind rally ruckus: Bimal Gurung Siliguri/Darjeeling: Gorkha Janmukti Morcha president Bimal Gurung claimed CPM cadres had sneaked into Wednesday’s rally of ex-servicemen and invited the police crackdown. In a tactic borrowed from Trinamool chief Mamata Banerjee, he accused the police of acting under the directives of the CPM party office. The three parties that have backed Thursday’s bandh also charted out their future course of action. A public meeting at Siliguri on April 27 will be followed by gatherings in Cooch Behar, Darjeeling, Raiganj and Jalpaiguri through April and May, just before the panchayat elections in the plains begin. In a press release issued from Kolkata, CPM state secretary Biman Bose appealed for peace in the Hills and the plains. “Some forces are out to drive a wedge between the regions. We are committed to development of the Hills and want to sort out the problem through dialogue with the state government and the Centre,” Bose said. IG (law and order) Raj Kanojia said the rally had not been given permission in view of the volatile situation in Siliguri. “There was a blast last week and explosives were recovered recently. But they chose to ignore the directive, which resulted in the clash,” said Kanojia.

Gorkhaland activists and police face off at Darjeeling More

A police barricade at Darjeeling More in Siliguri on Wednesday
(The Times of India)