A day after Gorkha Janmukti Morcha chief Bimal Gurung warned of consequences for which only the State would be held responsible should it not hold immediate tripartite talks on the boiling Darjeeling issue, school buses and police vehicles were on Friday attacked by alleged GJM supporters who were “trying to enforce bandh and disrupt the process of normalcy,” sources said.
Alleged GJM supporters clashed with the police, stoned police vehicles including that of the local SP, sources said adding 12 miscreants were arrested after the incident.
A school bus and a few shops were also stoned causing damage to the vehicle. Harried guardians rushed to the spot though no child was reportedly injured.
In the midst of a tug of war over the leadership of the dominating Hill party between Gurung’s one time deputy Benay Tamang — who has been supporting early return of normalcy in the bandh-torn Hills for the past three months --- and the GJM chief himself who was currently at large following cases under UAPA slapped against him the Morcha chieftain had earlier warned the State Government against taking any step at its own risk.
From a hideout he warned “should a tripartite talk — involving the Centre, State and GJM — is not held immediately there could be consequences for which only the State Government will be held responsible.”
Soon shops and other establishments that were gradually opening — in the aftermath of the second bipartite talks between Mamata Bannerjee and Tamang on September 12 — in Kurseong, Kalimpong and elsewhere downed their shutters in a panic, sources said.
That the specter of Gurung loomed large in the Hills despite the party suffering a near vertical split — with one faction led by Tamang and Anik Thapa and the other led by Gurung and Roshan Giri — was once again proved when markets in Darjeeling closed down once again.
Irrespective of Gurung’s threats public offices continued to function and Government bus services resumed sparingly though between Siliguri and Darjeeling as they had been doing for the past couple of days, sources said.