Morcha members block NH55 at Panchnoi on Tuesday. (Kundan Yolmo)

Darjeeling/Kalimpong, Feb. 8: Darjeeling hills went up in flames today with mobs burning down government offices, including the Kalimpong subdivisional office, and vehicles after two Gorkha Janmukti Morcha supporters were killed in a police firing at Sibchu in Jalpaiguri district at noon.

The Morcha, which denied its involvement in the violence sweeping across the hills, has called an indefinite general strike in the area it wants as Gorkhaland from 6am tomorrow.

Soon after the firing, Morcha supporters came out on the streets across the hills, organising road blockades at various places, even as shopkeepers downed the shutters.

Silver Fir, which houses the office of the additional tourism director, DGHC, situated at Chowrastha in Darjeeling went up in flames. The vehicle of the district and session judge and a police van were set on fire. Both the vehicles were parked on the premises of the Darjeeling district magistrate’s office.

A vehicle belonging to the district administration’s pool was torched near the Kurseong Motor Stand, while an office of the state forest department near Giddepahar in Kurseong was vandalised.

The government properties torched in the Kalimpong municipality area include the bungalow of the divisional manager, West Bengal Forest Development Corporation (WBFDC), the office of the public works department and the office of the block development officer. Two buses parked at the Motor Stand were also set ablaze. One bus belonged to the North Bengal State Transport Corporation. “The mob also partially burned the office of the subdivisional officer,” said a police source.

Elsewhere in the subdivision, the WBFDC guest houses at Jaldhaka and Lava — 100 and 35 kilometres from Kalimpong — and a police outpost in Pedong were razed to the ground by mobs.

“The office of the Lava forest range officer was also torched,” said a forest officer.

“The divisional office in Kalimpong has also been gutted in fire. The angry people ransacked the office before setting the building on fire. The WBFDC divisional manager’s bungalow (situated in the same complex) was completely destroyed in the fire. The personal belongings of the manager (Ujjal Ghosh) went up in flames. He and his family were not at home when the incident occurred. They were away in Jalpaiguri,” said a source.

In the evening, alleged Morcha supporters torched forest properties in at least four more places. These include a rest house and a tourist cottage at Gorubathan, a WBFDC tourist resort at Samsing in Jalpaiguri, the beat office in Sonada, an office at Bhutiabusty in Darjeeling and a rest house at Paren in Kalimpong subdivision.

Roshan Giri, the general secretary of the Morcha, however denied the party’s involvement in the incident. “We dissociate ourselves from these incidents. We have never burnt down offices and we want this agitation to be democratic and peaceful.”

Tonight, more government offices were targeted by arsonists. Electricity office and telephone exchange in Darjeeling were set ablaze, while forest conservator’s car was torched near Mirik. Bijanbari fire service station was also torched by a mob.