Gorkhaland activists set fire to police outpost
By IANSSunday, February 21, 2010
SILIGURI - Members of the students and womens’ wing of the pro-Gorkhaland Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) set fire to a police outpost near here Sunday after their demand to hand over a murder case accused was not met by the securitymen, police said.
Inspector General of police (North Bengal) Kundan Lal Tamta told IANS over phone that the outpost, about 18 km from, under Pradhan Nagar police station of Darjeeling district was completely gutted. However, no one was injured.
Tamta said the trouble started when a group of agitators surrounded the officer-in-charge of the outpost to protest the police’s failure in arresting a murder accused.
“Around 4.30 p.m. the man was arrested. Then the agitators lifted the gherao and dispersed. But they came back around 7 p.m. with a fresh demand that the accused be handed over to them. Naturally, police did not agree,” Tamta said.
The agitators then turned violent and set the outpost on fire.
The inspectors-in-charge of Pradhannagar police station and Kurseong police stations have been asked to rush to the spot, Tamta said.
“I have ordered my men to arrest the culprits by conducting a door-to-door search,” he said.
The northern Bengal town of Siliguri is 606 km from Kolkata.
