West Bengal govt seeks Army help to control Darjeeling situation

While the GJM, which set on fire police vehicles, called a shutdown on Friday, the state government has sought help from Indian Army to restore peace in violence hit Darjeeling.

Chief Secretary of the state has requested the Centre to deploy army in Darjeeling at the earliest.

A senior official of Indian Army's Eastern Command told IBNS: "We have not received any direction regarding army deployment from our headquarters in Delhi so far."

"Troops would be deployed in Darjeeling from our camp in Sukma if we get order from the Centre," he added.

Almost all ministers of West Bengal, including CM Mamata Banerjee, and over 10,000 tourists have been stranded in hills due to the protest.

Local administration is requesting the tourists to stay inside their hotels and not to move outside.

GJM leader Bimal Gurung has called for a 12-hour-long general strike in Darjeeling hills tomorrow (Friday). Gorkhas, who are ethnic Nepalese, led by parties like GJM have been demanding a separate state of Darjeeling for several decades. 

A police official told IBNS: "At least 50 policemen, including 3 officers and few female cops, were injured in the sudden attack of GJM."

"They threw bricks, stones and glass bottles aiming at cops. Police restored to lathicharge and lobbed tear gas shells. Over 12 vehicles, including a state bus and few police jeeps, a police kiosk and a local police outpost at Mall were set on fire by protesters. We have detained few protesters."

CM Mamata Banerjee condemned of the incident and has directed local administration to take all adequate steps. She said tourists will be evacuated safely.

(Reporting by Deepayan Sinha)