At least four people were killed on Saturday when police allegedly opened fire at stone pelters in trouble-torn Darjeeling, but Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee denied reports of police firing and blamed a “foreign country and terror groups” for stoking fire in the Hills.
Four Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) supporters — Bimal Sasankar, Mahesh Gurung and Sunil Rai and others — were killed when police allegedly opened fire to disperse a charging band of GJM supporters who pelted stones, hurled bombs and even fired bullets before torching at least half-a-dozen police vehicles at Singmari in Darjeeling, said sources, adding the skirmish at Singmari, Ghoom in Goru Bathan — famous for its scenic beauty and highest railway station in the world — had further diminished any chances of talks.
Besides, many people, including 19 policemen, were admitted to various hospitals in Darjeeling and Siliguri after they sustained injuries during the skirmish that started after the police tried to stop two huge rallies emerging from Patleniwas, sources said.
While the State Government called an all-party meeting in the wake of escalation in violence, GJM spokesperson Binay Tamang said his party would “only talk with the Centre and that too on furtherance of the cause of Gorkhaland State and holding of a judicial enquiry into Saturday’s firing that killed four of our people,” adding “there can be no talk with the State Government after they killed our four Gorkha brothers.”
The Chief Minister told the media quoting ADG law and Order Anuj Sharma that police had not opened fire. “It was the Morcha and not police that opened fire,” Sharma said.
Also, she claimed an Indian Reserve Battalion Assistant Commandant Kiran Tamang had succumbed to his injuries but soon retraced her statements saying “he is grievously hurt and is fighting for his life.”
Tamang had been rushed to a hospital in Siliguri, where his condition was stated to be critical, Sharma said.
She also claimed, “I have reports that some foreign countries and terrorist groups of the North-East are backing these goonda elements in Darjeeling. Though I should not name any country directly, I will request the groups of North East not to back these elements.”
There was a deep-rooted conspiracy in the Hills she said vowing, “I will never let Darjeeling get split from Bengal till I am alive. Who will explain presence of so much of arms and ammunition in a small areaIJ So much of bombs and fire arms have been imported in that area. This is a conspiracy to destabilise Bengal.”
Curiously her Cabinet colleague and Siliguri MlA Gautam Deb, who is also in charge of Darjeeling affairs, earlier blamed BJP for “creating mischief in Darjeeling.” He had been attacked with Kukri (a kind of knife used by the Gorkha people).
The immediate trigger behind the incident was a reported raid in Benoy Tamang’s house, sources said. “My house was raided and vandalised by police,” Tamang said. Soon after police raid huge rallies converged at Patleniwas, Singhmari and Ghoom.
Tamang also alleged “Vikram Rai - a local journalist, was arrested last night. Rai was associated with various media houses based in Kolkata and was also a stringer for a television channel. If local journalists are not safe in Darjeeling, who is.”
Once police tried to stop the rallies clashes ensued. “At one point of time the mobs were seen chasing the cops and even rolling boulders from the hill tops causing many injuries,” though the GJM leadership denied any such attacks.
The Bengal Opposition parties blamed Mamata for igniting the situation in Darjeeling through her “aggressive all-devouring policy” and for allowing the situation to gradually slip out of hand thereafter by trying to handle the situation with force.
Meanwhile in what seemed like the Hill agitation is slowly spreading in the Plains the GJM and associated parties had called a 12-hour bandh in Dooars region on Sunday. A large number of Gorkha population lives in Dooars-Terrai region.