Attempts being made to derail peace process, miscreants attack school bus and govt buses, police fire teargas shells at Kalimpong

Darjeeling /Siliguri, Sep 15: Violent attempts were being made to derail all out efforts of restoring normalcy in Darjeeling hills with reports of attacks on students and commuters in government and school buses pouring in as police fired teargas shells after batons failed to quell a rampaging mob at Kalimpong today, a night after Gorkha Janmukti Morcha chief Bimal Gurung's direction to his followers to enforce shutdown. Miscreants hurled stones on a vehicle carrying students from hostel to a nearby hospital for routine medical check-up. As the vehicle was passing on an almost empty road, some miscreants from uphill at Dambachak in Kalimpong pelted with stones damaging the car. However, the students have been rescued by the security forces to safe passage. This apart, two NBSTC buses carrying commuters from Siliguri to Kalimpong were attacked on NH 10 near Teesta. But the patrol police immediately swung into action and escorted the buses to the destination, where pro-Gurung supporters fought a pitched battle with the security forces, who were trying to restore order. The supporters attacked the uniformed men, who first used batons to disperse them. But when the mob turned berserk, police retaliated firing several teargas shells to quell them at Kalimpong bus terminus. UNI