Violence: Parties concerned

Several political parties expressed concern over today's disturbances in Darjeeling town and asked for strict administrative measures to bring the situation under control. “This type of violent incidents particularly at this critical point would be harmful to the interest of the hills as well as of the state and must be put down by apt administrative measures,” the leaders of different constituents of the Left Front said today.

However, the CPI-ML (Liberation) leader Mr Abhijit Majumder said that the state-sponsored sabotage might have instigated today's violence in the hill town. One woman belonging to the Gorkha Jan Mukti Nari Morcha was shot dead allegedly by GNLF supporters. The house of GNLF leader Mr Subash Ghising was pelted with stones and that of another GNLF leader Mr Dipak Gurung's was burnt by an irate mob.

Expressing serious concern over the incident Mr Jibesh Sarkar, the CPI-M state committee member said that the administration should put down such lawlessness with a heavy hand. “The situation is alarming and before it takes a turn for the worse strict measures should be taken by the administration. The CPI-M activists are also being subjected to terror tactics by the GJMM activists, yet the administration is not alive to the gravity of the problem,” the CPI-M leader said.

Terming the incident as ‘unfortunate’ Mr Ujjwal Chowdhury, the CPI Darjeeling district secretary, said that the GJMM leadership seemed to be a frustrated lot. “The administration must be on its guard to keep the cadres of the frustrated outfit under check,” the CPI leader warned.

Mr Smritish Bhattacharya, the Forward Bloc Darjeeling district secretary, said that the survival of the UPA government at the Centre might have emboldened the GJMM. “ The incident is unfortunate and this must not be allowed to snowball into major political disturbances in the hills,” Mr Bhattacharya said.

Mr Binay Chakravarty, the RSP Darjeeling district secretary held lack of administrative alertness responsible for today's incident. “The district administration should have been on its guard to forestall such an incident,” the RSP leader commented. However, the CPI-ML (Liberation) leader Mr Abhijit Majumder said that a state-sponsored sabotage might have been behind today's incident in the hills. “We are awaiting detailed information. Yet the possibility of sabotage cannot be ruled out,” the CPI-ML leader remarked.