A family struggles to fight back tears after a youngster is shot dead during protests over Gorkhaland
In Goke village located in Pulbazar tehsil, a one-and-a-half hour drive from Darjeeling, SB Sashankar is fighting back tears as he recalls the events that unfolded on the fateful afternoon of June 17. "They shot my son in his throat and then fired at his chest. The Gorkhas have always spilled blood for this country. My son spilled his for our land," says the 66-year-old at his home.
Sashankar's house is located in Goke, a remote hamlet that lies on the banks of the Ramang river, on either side of which lie Sikkim and West Bengal.
On the day he breathed his last, 30-year-old Bimal Sashankar trudged uphill on what is a semblance of a road for about an hour to reach the local town square. The atmosphere was charged, and 'Gorkhaland' was on the lips of everyone. Bimal made his way uphill, along with his friends, towards Patlebas, an hour's drive away from Goke.
At Patlebas — which is the epicentre of the protests and where Gorkhaland Janmukti Morcha (GJM) leader Bimal Gurung operates from — there was a huge gathering that stretched further to Singmari. It started with slogans, and the police claim that the protesters started pelting stones at them. The protesters, however, claim that the police lathicharged peaceful protestors who were shouting slogans demanding a separate state of Gorkhaland.
The situation went out of hand soon and the police resorted to the use of tear gas shells. And then, the police fired at the protesters, killing three of them. Bimal and Sunil Rai were shot near Singmari, while Mahesh Gurung was killed in Ghoom.
At his home, Bimal's young wife Anjana is seething with rage. "Darjeeling is our land, not Mamata Banerjee's. She's insensitive and deserves no mercy. If she comes here, in front of me, she will not walk out of here alive," says Anjana. The 32-year-old now has to fend for her seven-year-old son, William, who's not quite sure what the fuss is all about.
Anjana says that she last spoke to her husband at 11 am. He asked Anjana to remain safe. Since he had been part of protests before, Anjana did not expect the firing to happen. Locals told her that he's been shot, but only when the TV channels flashed his name at around 2.30pm did the family get to know of his death.
There has been no word from anyone since, she says. Neither the dispensation nor the news channels have reached the remote hamlet. However, GJM leader Gurung lent them support, and his shoulder to carry Bimal's body around Darjeeling town, a day after he died.
The family lived off their land, and by selling milk. Bimal would find work on some days at the NTPC power plant nearby. With him gone, Anjana is worried about her son's future. William says he wants to join the Army.
On June 18, Bimal's, Rai's and Gurung's bodies were taken around town in a procession that saw a gathering that ran into thousands. Mohan Rai, who runs a shop at Goke's sparse town square, where young men sit around discussing Mamata Banerjee, says that a procession of more than 30 cars reached Bimal's house for his funeral.
Bimal's brother, a Bijanbari resident, pins the last word on what's on everyone's mind here: "Bengal's domination will not work here. Every tree, every stone in these hills screams out for our own land, Gorkhaland."
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