Fresh trouble brewed in Darjeeling after the death of a Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) supporter late night on Monday, allegedly due to police firing.
Around 7 pm on Monday clashes broke out at Mirik between TMC and Morcha supporters and police arrested Kailash Tamang, a Morcha supporter. In retaliation at 9.30 pm, Morcha supporters started a rally to gherao Mirik Police Station but they were stopped at Bypass Crossing where police had put up a barricade. As a result clashes broke out in which police allegedly opened fire and Asish Tamang, another Morcha supporter was killed.
In protest against Asish's death, there was a day long agitation on Tuesday at Mirik, around 50 km away from Darjeeling. Government property including the offices of land reforms department, Mirik Municipality and the BDO office was vandalised by an irate mob. Residence of Poonam Sewa, TMC councillor of Mirik Municipality was also attacked and stones were pelted.
At 7 pm on Tuesday, Asish's body was brought back to Mirik from Siliguri after a post mortem and an angry mob went on a rampage once again. Police fired gunshots and several rounds of tear gas shells in the air.
While GJM leaders said they were only protesting in a democratic manner and had nothing to do with the violence, state tourism minister Gautam Deb denied that police firing had killed Asish.
"Police had behaved in a very restrained manner and had not opened fire. GJM supporters had resorted to hooliganism and had been vandalising public property. The death must have been during the rampage," Deb said.
Members of 15 political parties which comprise the Gorkhaland Movement Coordination Committee (GMCC) met on Tuesday and decided that the bandh which has entered its 34th day now would continue.
It was also decided in the meeting that the next meeting would be held in August 1 in New Delhi and all protest programmes such as sit-in demonstrations, rallies, seminars and meetings would be conducted there. Condemning the violence which killed Asish on Monday GMCC members said that two teams would be formed and each would visit the governors of Bengal and Sikkim and apprise them of the situation at the hills.
While Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee blamed foreign hands and the BJP leaders' instigations for the violence in Darjeeling, Union Telecom and Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, on the sidelines of a discussion session organised by Indian Chamber of Commerce denied all such allegations and passed the ball to the state government's court. "We are not instigating anything. You can see that we are sending Central forces whenever required but ultimately the state has to take action," he said.
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