GJM protest in Darjeeling: One arrested for torching Govt office

Eight suspected GJM activists were detained for indulging in arson as a GJM-sponsored shutdown of government offices began this morning.

The Police arrested Gorkhaland Territorial Administration's Satish Pokhrel on Tuesday for his alleged involvement in burning Bijanbari BDO office.

The office was torched by unknown miscreants on Monday amid call for indefinite bandh by Gorkha Janmukti Morch.

Eight suspected GJM activists were detained for indulging in arson as a GJM-sponsored shutdown of government offices began Monday morning. The hill station of Darjeeling wore a deserted look as the shutdown began amid tight security.

Schools and colleges were also exempted from the purview of the shutdown, called by the GJM for reviving its demand for a separate state of Gorkhaland.

Earlier, GJM chief Bimal Gurung asked the tourists to leave the hills or stay back at their own risk as "anything might happen". "The situation is turning worse, and anything can happen," he said, according to The Times of India.

(With agency inputs)