Darjeeling: A bomb blast in Darjeeling destroyed 12 shops on early Friday, the police said. No injuries were reported in the incident, however, there was panic among the locals.
Akhilesh Kumar Chaturvedi, Superintendent of Police, told IANS: “There was a bomb blast in Darjeeling’s motor stand area post midnight. No one got injured as the place was empty at the time of the blast. We are investigating the incident.”
GJM Condemns Blast in Official Statement. As per the sources, a number of shops and the road in front of the motor stand area were damaged.
Fire tenders, police and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel rushed to the scene after the blast and police have been deployed in the area. No individual or organization has taken responsibility for the blast, so far.
The blast occurred on the 69th day of the indefinite shutdown called by the Gorkha Janamukti Morcha (GJM). The GJM has demanded that a separate Gorkhaland state is carved out of the north Bengal hills.