Prashant Tamang Indian Idol clash between Tamang’s fans and locals in Siliguri
KING OF HEARTS: Prashant Tamang was crowned Indian Idol after defeating his rival Amit Paul.
The Darjeeling Hills have erupted in mass outrage following a reckless chatter by a radio jockey of a Delhi-based FM radio station, in which the RJ described Indian Idol Prashant Tamang as ‘chowkidwar se Indian Idol’.
The issue has sparked off a mass movement in the Darjeeling Hills, leading to violence in Siliguri on Thursday and general strikes in several places like Kalimpong and Sukna in the past three days.
At least 12 people were injured in a clash between Tamang’s fans and locals in Siliguri in West Bengal on Thursday when police fired on an angry mob after the protesters had resorted to widespread violence and clashed with locals. The mob, comprising mostly fans of Prashant Tamang, torched cars and damaged shops during a protest march.
The Border Security Force (BSF) has been called in Siliguri to control the situation and curfew has been imposed in the entire subdivison. The West Bengal Government has, meanwhile, decided to take legal action against the FM channel and the radio jockey for the damaging remark.
The Gorkha community has taken strong exception to the prattle-tattle of the radio jockey, claiming that the remark was derogatory and insulting to the marshal race of Gorkha.
The RJ, Jonathan Brady, who is popularly known as Nitin after a programme called Ulta Pulta Nitin that he used to host on some other FM channel, apparently commented in a live broadcast that “shopkeepers will now have to make their own security arrangements as Gorkhas have taken to singing.” The remark was made on his new programme, Khurafati Nitin on Red FM.
Darjeeling Hills were still celebrating the crowing of Prashant Tamang when the reckless remark turned the celebrations into protest rallies as soon as the news about the alleged comment spread.
Members of the Prashant Fan Club, supported by leaders of all political parties, educational institution and NGOs immediately observed a 24-hour bandh in Darjeeling sub-division on Tuesday in protest against the remark.
The protest soon snowballed into mass protests in the hills and a Gorkha delegation moved Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi and West Bengal Chief Minister Bengal Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, demanding stern action against the radio channel.
Processions were taken out in small towns across the district and street corner meetings were held in Darjeeling to protest against the damaging broadcast.
The protesters have demanded that the FM broadcaster be arrested immediately and brought to Darjeeling hills for a trial within three days, failing which the Gorkhas would take ‘appropriate’ measures.
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