BJP members demand Prez rule in Bengal

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) members on Saturday met West Bengal Governor K N Tripathi and demanded that the Centre should immediately impose President’s rule as the law and order situation in the state has “completely broken down”. The BJP’s demand follows the communal clashes in the North 24 Parganas district and the ongoing turmoil in Darjeeling. It also demanded that all families affected in the riots be compensated by the state government.

The Army was today redeployed in Darjeeling hills after fresh violence broke out at Sonada where Gorkhaland supporters torched a police outpost and a toy train station after a youth was killed in alleged police firing last night.

Activists of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) and the Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF) also clashed with the police at Sonada and Chawkbazar in Darjeeling as the indefinite shutdown in the hills entered its 24th day.

Two columns of the Army comprising around 100 personnel were deployed in Sonada and Darjeeling in the wake of fresh violence, defence sources said.

GNLF spokesperson Neeraj Zimba claimed that the youth Tashi Bhutia was shot dead by the security forces last night when he had gone out to purchase medicines at Sonada.

The police, however, said they did not have any report of firing. “We don’t have any report of police firing as of now. We are looking into the incident. We can give you details later,” a police officer said.

Inspector General of Police (IGP) Javed Shamim, when asked about the firing, said, “It will be known only after the inquiry.”

The GJM and other hill parties have lodged a police complaint accusing the police of killing the youth.

“The youth was killed by the police without any reason.

As news of his death spread, hundreds of Gorkhaland supporters came out on the streets and raised slogans against “police atrocities”.

They clashed with the police and set on fire a police outpost at Sonada and the toy train station of the Darjeeling-Himalayan railways, a Unesco World Heritage site.

The BJP today met West Bengal Governor K N Tripathi and demanded that the Centre should immediately impose President’s rule as the law and order situation in the state has “completely broken down”.

“Today we met the governor and informed him about the grim situation in the state. The state government in collaboration with anti-national elements is directly responsible for the complete breakdown of the law and order situation. We have requested the governor to talk to the central government and send the recommendation for imposition of President’s rule in the state,” state BJP president Dilip Ghosh told reporters after the meeting.