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Darjeeling still on the boil, talks planned

With fresh agitation rocking Darjeeling, the fate of a June 19 meeting to discuss nitty gritty of Gorkhaland Territorial Administration hangs in balance

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The weapons seized after a raid at the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha office in Darjeeling
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Violence erupted across the hills on Thursday after the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) called for a complete shutdown in the hills following a raid on its president Bimal Gurung's residence and "seizure'' of arms, bows and arrows, baseball bats, sharp weapons, knives and crackers.

"We received information yesterday (June 14) that GJM workers would take out a rally today. We were also tipped off about the huge cache of arms stocked at the party office which was raided. Our investigation is on and legal action will be taken against offenders," said Darjeeling SP Akhilesh Chaturvedi, who led the team that carried out the raided at the GJM party office in Patlebas on Thursday.

With fresh agitation rocking Darjeeling, the fate of a June 19 meeting to discuss nitty gritty of Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) hangs in balance.

Following the raid, protesters started pelting stones at security personnel. They also set a few vehicles ablaze. Police fired tear gas shells and resorted to lathi charge to keep the irate mob at bay. Protesters also set a police outpost on fire at Pedong near Kalimpong.

Siddhinath Gupta, a senior IPS officer, said, "We seized large containers of diesel. They opened fire and hurled petrol bombs at security personnel."

In a later development, two GJM workers were arrested, and buses were torched.

Meanwhile, GJM leaders retaliated by calling an indefinite strike in hills. They said the raid was an attack on Gorkha unity. Swaraj Thapa, a GJM central committee member, alleged police highhandedness saying, "The cache of bow and arrows that were seized are our traditional weapons. They were kept at the party office for a future function involving schoolchildren. Police claim to have recovered a huge cache of weapons, but they were agricultural equipment. We are within our constitutional right by demanding a separate state. The West Bengal government may differ with our views, but we are sure that if we discuss these issues at a tripartite meeting, we will be able to convince them."

Anuj Sharm, ADG (Law and Order), brushed aside GJM's claims, saying, "They were traditional weapons. The party stored arms and ammunition to attack the police. We will not tolerate any attempt to disrupt the law and order situation in the hills".

Roshan Giri, GJM general secretary, has travelled to Delhi to initiate the process of a tripartite meeting. This apart, three GJM MLAs have decided meet Governor Kesari Nath Tripathi to apprise him of the situation with the hope of arriving at a solution.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, on Thursday, said the situation in the hills was normal.

State BJP president Dilip Ghosh said, "It is the same picture from Ghising (Subhash) to Gurung (Bimal). From GNLF to GJM. The state government is trying to instigate trouble to gain ground in the hills."

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