Catch culprits with caution

May 21: The Bengal government today said it had asked the Darjeeling administration to arrest the culprits behind Madan Tamang’s murder, but gave enough indication that, like in the recent past, it would not take any action that could “precipitate” the situation in the hills.

After a meeting with chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, both home secretary Samar Ghosh and director-general of police Bhupinder Singh made it clear the “sensitive” hill situation would have to be handled “carefully”.

“We have sent additional state forces to Darjeeling,” Ghosh said. “Strict vigil has to be maintained so that clashes or killings do not occur. But we also have to make sure the police do not do anything that can be termed excesses. After all, the situation in the hills is sensitive. We are treating this incident simply as a case of murder. So, only the standard operational procedure will be followed.”

The government is aware that the situation is “tricky” as Tamang’s alleged killers are Morcha supporters and it would not want to do anything “hasty” that could derail the ongoing talks to end the hill impasse. “As it is the talks are stuck over the dispute on territory. If the state does anything that upsets the Morcha, it could jeopardise the talks further,” an official said.

State police chief Singh stressed there had been “no breakdown in law and order” in the hills and there was no need to react to it as such. “It’s a case of two political parties combating each other,” he said.

In Delhi, Union finance minister Pranab Mukherjee, too, indicated that normality had to prevail and the tripartite talks had to go forward. “Our main priority will be to keep the national highways which pass through Darjeeling district open as they are vital to our security… they connect Sikkim and Bhutan,” Mukherjee told The Telegraph. “I’m worried about the violence spreading in the hills.”

Mukherjee said the talks with the “Gorkha (Janmukti Morcha) leaders” would continue. “In the long run, some more autonomy may be granted but neither a separate province nor extended territory for Gorkhaland is possible…. Darjeeling is a strategic area and a perpetual solution through dialogue is the only way out.”

Darjeeling MP Jaswant Singh asked the government to ensure that there was no witch-hunting after the killing of Tamang, reports PTI. “There should be a full investigation on why and how it happened.... We should not jump to conclusion blaming one or anybody else,” PTI quoted Singh in Delhi. “There should be no witch hunting,” he said.

“I do not see any rational behind some pre-mature reporting of blaming organisations simply on unfounded rumours,” Singh said

In Calcutta, state hill affairs minister Asok Bhattacharya, one of the state’s two representatives at the political-level tripartite talks, lashed out at the Morcha, holding it responsible for Tamang’s murder. “The Morcha killed Tamang in a pre-planned manner as he had called for the restoration of democracy in the hills.”

However, home secretary Ghosh cautioned against “jumping to any conclusions”. “We’ll go by what the Centre says,” he said.

In Delhi, Union home secretary G.K. Pillai admitted that the bloodshed would impact the talks atmosphere. “It (the murder) vitiates the atmosphere for talks. There is need for people to keep calm and work towards a peaceful solution and all sides need to maintain peace,” he said.

North Bengal inspector-general of police K.L. Tamta said three companies of the CRPF were heading to Darjeeling to ensure normality in the hills.