Two knifed on death protest day - Mob sets house on fire but traffic normal

Darjeeling, May 19(Vivek Cheetri)TT: Two GNLF supporters were stabbed this evening, hours after the house of another party supporter was burnt and razed to the ground in a continuation of the violence in the hills that followed the death of Rabin Rai yesterday. A DGHC office was also set afire late last night at Giddepahar in Kurseong. The family members of Puran Rai of Bhutia busty, who was admitted to the Darjeeling district hospital tonight, said they have not been able to identify the attackers. No police complaint was lodged either. Police, however, said the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha was behind the attack on Suman Mukhia. The 42-year-old from Burbong has been admitted to Kurseong subdivisional hospital with severe cuts on his head. The alleged retaliations come on a day the Morcha has called a 24-hour general strike across the hills to protest the death of Rai. The 28-year-old was beaten up allegedly by GNLF supporters in Sonada on Sunday during a poll victory celebration. Four persons have been arrested for the attack. Earlier in the afternoon, Darjeeling police chief D.P. Singh said: “The situation is now peaceful. The house of a GNLF supporter was razed to the ground at Lopchu at 4 this morning and a council office was also burnt down at Giddepahar in Kurseong last night.” The Morcha, whose MLAs have decided to attend Mamata Banerjee’s swearing in ceremony in Calcutta tomorrow, has demanded the arrest of GNLF chief Subash Ghisingh, who fled the hills hours after Rai was attacked in Sonada. Bimal Gurung’s party also wants Ghisingh’s Z category security to be withdrawn. The GNLF president has been enjoying the security since February 2001 following an assassination bid on him at Saath Ghoomti near Kurseong. Morcha supporters today brought out rallies carrying black flags. Transport, tea and cinchona plantations were, however, kept out of the bandh’s purview. Addressing Morcha supporters in Darjeeling, general secretary Roshan Giri said: “We demand that Ghisingh be arrested as he instigated violence in the hills through his speech. The state government should also remove his Z category security as soon as possible.” Morcha president Bimal Gurung and newly elected MLAs from Darjeeling and Kurseong Trilok Dewan and Rohit Sharma attended Rai’s funeral at Sonada’s Raghubir busty, 20km from Darjeeling. “Our president has taken up the responsibility of educating the two daughters of Rai, aged six and four years. Since, Rai was the only earning member of the family, the Morcha will get his wife a suitable job. The party will also provide financial assistance to the martyr’s family,” said Binay Tamang, the assistant secretary of the Morcha over the phone from Raghubir busty. The Morcha has demanded that the 46 GNLF supporters named in the FIR be immediately arrested. “Eyewitnesses have also highlighted the role of local GNLF leaders, Pradip Pradhan, Suren Tamang and Roshan Tamang, in the attack. We will soon file a supplementary FIR with the police,” said Binay. The Morcha has termed the attack on the houses of GNLF leaders as “public outcry”. Mobs set fire to two houses in Dilaram yesterday when Rai’s death news reached the hills late in the afternoon. Five homes were ransacked in Sonada simultaneously while two were pelted with stones in Kurseong. A house each in Kalimpong and Takdah were attacked also. Asked if the party would condemn incidents like burning down of houses, MLA Sharma said: “This is a public outcry as an innocent Morcha supporter has been killed. We once again appeal to our supporters to maintain peace in the hills.” Many believe that the reason behind the attack on the council office is because a section of contractual workers from this office had walked out of the Morcha-affiliated Janmukti Asthahi Karmachari Sangathan (JAKS). They have formed their own unit, the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council Karmachari Sangathan. Although the office bearers of the new organisation maintain that they are an apolitical body, the Morcha has alleged that they have a tacit understanding with the GNLF. The strike did not impact tourism, as there was no bar on transport movement. Hordes of visitors arrived in town today. “This is a good move taken by the Morcha to safeguard tourism. The party has shown that there can be protests while taking care of the tourism sector which contributes immensely towards the hill economy. We are hopeful that the decision to exempt transport from strike will now be a precedence which will be followed not just by the Morcha but also by other political parties,” said a tour operator.