Heritage Darjeeling villa linked to Nivedita vandalised

TNN | Sep 15, 2017, DARJEELING/KOLKATA: Miscreants burgled and vandalised a Ramakrishna Mission establishment in Darjeeling, where Sister Nivedita stayed and breathed her last in 1911, on Wednesday night, escaping with Rs 60,000 from the donation box after tearing up photographs of past mission leaders and ransacking the main prayer room.

The attack on the mission, now used to feed 140 people daily in a zone that has witnessed a near-total shutdown since June 15, drew an immediate and sharp response from the Ramakrishna Math and Missi-on headquarters in Belur. "Such negative and violent acts do no good to people or humanity. Sister Nivedita mirrored the Indian ethos of sacrifice and service. She belonged to everyone. We have sought a det-ailed report on the incident and will act appropriately," RKM's Belur Math general secretary Swami Suvirananda said.

"We were verbally informed by RKM monks about the vandalism and robbery. They will lodge a formal complaint soon. Preliminary inquiry suggests it is the work of robbers and, at this moment, the incident appears to have no relation with the ongoing agitation," Darjeeling superintendent of police Akhilesh Chaturvedi said.

Officials, however, also admitted that the 116-year-old establishment — Roy Villa — had never faced an incident like this since being restored to its former glory in 2013 by the government. "This incident may not have any direct link with the agitation but it is also true that the long shutdown is fuelling desperation," a district administration official said.

The monk in charge of the Darjeeling establishment, Sw-ami Nityasatyananda, came down to Siliguri with four other monks on Wednesday to take back the week's supplies. He received a call on Thursday morning, informing him that miscreants had broken into Roy Villa some time at night and taken away Rs 60,000 from the two donation boxes.

"I had gone down to Siliguri along with other monks on Wednesday to get foodstuff and other essentials. The staff, who reported for duty on Thursday morning, informed me about the incident. Miscreants have ransacked and vandalised the main shrine and the room where Sister Nivedita passed away. Photographs were torn and lay strewn on the floor. They also vandalised the prayer room. This is unprecedented," Swami Nityasatyananda said over phone from Siliguri.

"I am moving up to the Hills now and will file a written complaint after I reach Darjeeling. But I have informed the police about the whole incident. I have also informed the Bengal CM and the state home secretary," he added.

The three-storey Roy Villa is located above the Lebong Cart Road on the fringes of Darjeeling town and is surrounded by tea gardens and forests.

Pradeep, who doubles up as gardener and kitchen help, was one of the first to report for duty on Thursday. "We usually don't stay back at night. We work the whole day and leave by 6 p.m. after locking the main gate. I found glass shards strewn amid Sister Nivedita's photo frames on the floor and the donation boxes broken. I also smelt diesel on the stairs," he said.

Roy Villa was under the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) after its restoration in 2012 till May 2013, when it was converted to the Nivedita Educational and Cultural Centre and handed over to the state government, which then entrusted the Belur-headquartered RKM to maintain and run it. The NECC provides free tuitions to students, food and stationery and also conducts extra-curricular activities for underprivileged children from nearby tea gardens.