Kalimpong, Feb. 19: Nine Trinamul
activists were today injured in a clash with alleged Gorkha Janmukti
Morcha cadres near the army’s military engineering service compound in
Kalimpong.
According to
Trinamul sources, the clash had its roots in the party trying to woo
some of the army-enlisted contractors who are loyal to the Morcha.
Police said two
groups had clashed over “allotment of tenders” in an eatery outside the
military engineering service (MES) office in Kalimpong’s Durpin, close
to which the army’s cantonment is located. No party was named.
A Trinamul
activist allegedly injured in the clash has filed an FIR naming local
Morcha activists. The hill party has denied any hand in the assault. No
one has been arrested yet. Trinamul activists said over 20 Morcha
supporters with khukuris and rods attacked them in the eatery, which is frequented by MES officials because of its closeness to the army facility.
Chewang Bhutia,
the Trinamul youth co-ordinator in Kalimpong, said some of the
MES-enlisted contractors had shown an interest to switch from the Morcha
to his party. “Our boys had gone to the MES office to meet some of the
contractors who are interested in joining our party. While they were
sipping tea in the canteen, Morcha youths from the neighbouring areas
barged into the room armed with rods and khukuris and assaulted our boys,” he said.
When Morcha
general secretary Roshan Giri’s reaction was sought on the clash, he
said in Darjeeling: “They had a problem themselves (Trinamul) over
enlisting at MES. The Morcha is not involved.”
The MES enlists
contractors to carry out maintenance work in the army’s cantonment area.
“Most of the work includes maintenance of barracks, roads and water
pipelines. This involves a lot of money,” said a source.
“The local GNLF
activists used to get the contracts during the party’s heyday. The
Morcha leaders have been making hay in the past few years. It now
appears that Trinamul, too, wants a slice of it,” said the source.
Bhutia said: “The
assault was carried out by Morcha youths from the Chandraloke area (near
Durpin). We have named Sunam Gurung, Kamal Rai and others in the FIR
lodged by one of the victims, Yakin Lamichaney, the vice-president of
Hill Trinamul’s Kalimpong youth wing.” Soon after the clash around 11am,
shopkeepers downed shutters in Kalimpong. Bhutia denied that Trinamul
activists had forced the shutdown. “People downed shutters on their
own,” he said.
The injured
Trinamul activists were admitted to Kalimpong subdivisional hospital
first. Seven of the nine injured were later sent to the North Bengal
Medical College and Hospital in Siliguri. “Of the seven, two have
suffered head injuries. All are in stable condition,” said Rajen Mukhia,
a leader of hill Trinamul.
Minister Gautam
Deb, asked about the clash, said: “Peace should be maintained in the
hills and strong steps will be taken against those trying to create
chaos and lawlessness.”
Source: The Telegraph