4 cops hurt in fresh violence in Darjeeling... firearms looted

TNN | Jul 10, 2017,DARJEELING: Sporadic violence and arson, which has kept the Hills on the boil for the last 25 days, continued on Sunday even as Army columns kept a close watch on the funeral rallies in Darjeeling and Sonada. A huge mob set ablaze a BDO office and a police camp at Pokribong, injuring four police personnel. Cops said firearms were also looted.

Agitators also torched the Pokhribing panchayat office and set ablaze the sub-divisional office at Kurseong, partially destroying the building. A day after Sonada toy train station was set on fire, protesters attacked the Sonada police station and torched a part of it.

GJM activists took out a rally at Chowkbazar with the bodies of Suraj Soondas and Sameer Subba, who were allegedly killed in police firing. The GNLF, on its part, took out a procession at Sonada with the body of Tashi Bhutia who, too, was allegedly killed in police firing.

"We took out two funeral rallies in Darjeeling Bazar area and one more rally in Sonada to pay our last tribute to the three Gorkha brothers who were killed on Saturday. We do not have any arms with us. The arms are with police. So it is obvious that the shots were fired by them," said GJM assistant general-secretary Binay Tamang.

The police, however, denied reports of firing and said they hadn't fired a "single shot". Amid continuing political diatribe between GJM and the ruling Trinamool Congress during the day, the GJM brought forward the all-party meeting to Tuesday. The meeting had originally been scheduled on July 18. "The events on Saturday forced this emergency meeting. There are also reports that food-laden trucks are being stopped from entering the Hills at Siliguri by police and Trinamool cadres," said Kalyan Diwan, convener, Gorkhaland Movement Cordination Committee. "The meeting is re-scheduled due to the current situation in the Darjeeling Hills," Tamang added.

Setting the tone of the meeting, GJM president Bimal Gurung in a press release demanded a CBI inquiry into the deaths. To rile the Mamata Banerjee government, the release also claimed that the Sharad Pawar-led NCP has extended its support to the Gorkhaland agitators.

On Saturday, Mamata had appealed to the agitators to shun violence and resume talks. GJM general-secretary Roshan Giri said they were ready for talks, but only with the Centre.

Trinamool secretary-general Partha Chatterjee also kept up the heat. "It is obvious that some foreign countries close to GJM are influencing the agitation," he alleged.
(Source & Courtesy: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata/4-cops-hurt-in-fresh-violence-in-darjeeling/articleshow/59519669.cms)