Fresh violence erupts in Darjeeling hills, car torched
DARJEELING: Incidents of fresh violence rocked West Bengal’s Darjeeling hills on Sunday as a vehicle on way to Lebong area in the district was set ablaze allegedly by Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) activists, police said.
“A vehicle moving from Darjeeling to Lebong was vandalised and torched by pro-shutdown GJM activists on Sunday morning. One person was injured,” Darjeeling superintendent of police Akhilesh Kumar Chaturvedi said. He said no one was so far detained in the case.
The state government has appealed to the local populace to lift the shutdown and assured necessary security to those willing to open their shops or resume business activities.
A section of hill parties spearheading the agitation, including the GJM, remain defiant over the withdrawal demand till tripartite talks between the central and state governments and other stakeholders are organised.
SHOPS OPEN SHUTTERS
Call by different traders’ bodies to open shops and business establishments in Darjeeling at exactly at 9am on Sunday received lukewarm response.
Around 19 traders’ organisation in the hills urged shop owners to open their shops at one go at Darjeeling town at 9 AM on Monday. But their call failed to attract the majority of the shopowners. Although the Darjeeling district magistrate claimed that at least half of the shops opened on Sunday, according to traders’ associations not even 5% responded to the call. “Only certain pavement shops started operating and that too for a limited period,” a local trader said.
Meanwhile, at Gorubathan in Kalimpong district, where statements of underground GJM president, Bimal Gurung, is the still last word, the pro- Gorkhaland supported have started observing Janta (Public) curfiew from Saturday onwards.