Extra troops for hills put on hold

DARJEELING ON THE EDGE Centre says won’t send more forces till state govt gives report on unrest

DELHI/DARJEELING/KOLKATA: The Centre said on Friday it will not send additional forces to quell a violent agitation in West Bengal’s hill districts till the Mamata Banerjee government gives a report on the situation in the semi-autonomous region.

The government’s refusal could lead to a showdown with the TMC regime, which accuses the BJP of backing the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM)’s agitation for a separate state.

Since Thursday, protesters have torched government buildings and vehicles to protest a police raid on an office of the GJM which administers the Gorkha Territorial Council (GTC).

“We will take a decision on sending additional paramilitary forces only when we make an assessment of the prevailing situation in Darjeeling. It is possible only when we receive a report from the state government, which has not sent it yet,” a home ministry spokesperson said.

On Thursday, the Centre had agreed to send 400 personnel to Darjeeling, in addition to 1,000 sent earlier. The state has sought eight more companies of central paramilitary forces.

The Centre sought a report from the Trinamool government on June 13, days after the first wave of violence started.

On Friday, the Calcutta high court declared as illegal a GJM called indefinite shutdown, upholding its own order in 2013.

A few hundred tourists were still stranded in the hills following the bandh called on Thursday, officials said.

Throughout Thursday night, suspected protesters attacked government properties, including torching residential quarters of forest department employees at Tarkhola.

A primary health centre run by the state government-owned Ramam hydel project at Lodhama and an electricity supply officer were also set on fire. A panchayat building in Mirik was also set on fire.

The Ghayabari railway station of the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, popularly known as the toy train, was set ablaze on Thursday night.