Govt notifies road names in memory of SDF Martyrs

GANGTOK, 05 Jan: The State government has renamed and notified the Chakung to Khaniserbong Kamling Road, KM 1st to 12th in West Sikkim, as Late Arun Rai Marg. The late Arun Rai was an SDF worker who was killed in a political clash in the run up to the assembly elections last year. The Cabinet had cleared the proposal some months ago and the notification to this effect was passed on 13 December last month.

5 picked up on political violence charges

GANGTOK, 02 Dec: West Sikkim continues to be the ground for political violence in the State. The Gyalshing police arrested 5 persons yesterday on charges of having assaulted one Ganga Ram Sharma of Salley, an SKM party supporter. The victim is reported to have suffered simple injuries after he was attacked by a group of masked men as he was returning from an indoor party meeting of the SKM on 30 November at Dhengrang, Sakyong, West Sikkim. It is alleged that the complainant had been ‘followed’ by the accused for some time prior to the incident the same day.

Chakung tension boils over again

STONING OF PANCHAYAT PRESIDENT’S VEHICLE LEADS TO CHAKKA JAM; JIWAN GURUNG TAKEN INTO CUSTODY AGAIN
NAMCHI: The situation in Chakung turned tense today after a vehicle belonging Chakung panchayat president, Kiran Gurung, was vandalised this morning, evoking a strong response from his supporters who  effected a chakka-jam at Chakung demanding the arrest of the culprits. This situation held for around six hours and the situation normalised after the SDF youth convenor for Soreong-Chakung, Jeewan Gurung, named in the FIR as the prime accused, was taken into custody. The panchayat president, it may be informed here, was expelled from the SDF some time back and seen as belonging to the party dissidents now aligned with the disaffected SDF MLA, PS Tamang.
The situation in Chakung turned tense when a Taxi Mahindra Savari [SK-04-9012] belonging to the Panchayat President was stoned at around 9:30 a.m. Monday morning.

RB Subba breaks silence of Singling incident, alleges “Goley Camp” instigated violence and misrepresentation

GANGTOK: Roads & Bridges Minister, RB Subba, broke his silence on the Singling violence Friday and presented his stand on the recent incident in which his supporters are alleged to have attacked a local resident while the Minister was on a door-to-door campaign there on 18 March. [background on Singling here, here, here, here, here and here]  
Addressing a press conference here at the Sikkim Legislative Assembly conference hall, the Minister stated that the incident had been “blown out of proportion” by the media and supporters of opposition parties, including the disaffected SDF MLA, PS Tamang (Goley).

3 Govt employees among mob accused of attacking Minister's vehicle in Singling

JEEVAN GURUNG, ACCUSED OF MURDEROUS ASSAULT ON LOCAL RESIDENT WHICH SPARKED VIOLENCE, RELEASED FROM HOSPITAL AND TAKEN INTO POLICE CUSTODY
GANGTOK: DIG [Range], N Sridhar Rao, speaking to the media on the Singling incident, informed that as per the FIR lodged by Indra Kumar Gurung, the driver of the Roads & Bridges Minister, at the Soreng Police Station, eight persons from Singling and another five who are yet to be identified, but are believed to hail from Teesta, West Bengal, have been named in connection with the attack on the Minister’s vehicle last Friday. Meanwhile, the youth injured in the attack which sparked the mob retaliation is reportedly in a critical condition in Siliguri, while the SDF youth convenor of the area, who is alleged to have attacked the youth, has been taken into police custody and taken to Soreng police station on police remand, the DIG informed.
Meanwhile, the eight named for the attack on the Minister’s vehicle, booked under section 147, 148, 149, 323 and 427 of the Indian Penal Code and under Section 3 of the Prevention of Damage of Public Properties Act, are Bikash Singh Tamang, Gauri Maya Tamang, Geeta Chettri, Priman Tamang, Dawa Tamang, Phurba Tamang, Suk Raj Subba and Pratap Tamang.

Singling youth counter SDF claims

GANGTOK, 21 March: A joint press release issued by one Dinak Pandey on behalf of the “youth from Singling”, West Sikkim, and circulated by former SDF panchayat and now part of the disaffected group, Jacob Rai, has alleged that instead of punishing the culprits, the Sikkim Democratic Front government was working to protect and cover-up for the accused. The reference is to the Singling violence of last Friday.
The release further alleges that the government was trying to protect the Minister [RB Subba], countering that this was unfortunate because it was the Minister who ordered the assault on a Singling youth which led to the collapse of the law and order situation in this West Sikkim hamlet under the Soreng-Chakung constituency.
The release adds that in the light of the government’s response, people are now beginning to feel that they will have to look out for their security and protection on their own.

SDF blames Singling incident on ‘regime’ nurtured there by PS Tamang’s

GANGTOK, 21 March: The Sikkim Democratic Front has claimed that neither the party, nor the Chakung-Soreng MLA, RB Subba, were responsible for the ‘unfortunate incident’ at Singling, Soreng, in West Sikkim, where two persons were injured in a clash. The party has instead countered that such incidents “are only representative of the kind of regime maintained by MLA, PS Golay, in the area” and further questioned “why else there is no such issue in other parts of the state?” Mr Golay represented the area till the last Assembly elections and was moved to Burtuk constituency in East Sikkim this time.
A joint press release issued by spokespersons of the party, the former and present Lok Sabha MPs Bhim Dahal and PD Rai, claimed that the present area MLA, Mr. Subba, visited the area as part of an ongoing door-to-door campaign of the party and that it was an “old enmity” of youth which triggered the incident. While one youth, reportedly aligned with Mr. Tamang was grievously hurt, and a subsequent mob backlash left the assailant battered and the visiting MLA’s vehicle vandalized last Friday.

Semblance of normalcy returns to Singling

ACCUSED BOOKED UNDER ATTEMPT TO MURDER CHARGES, VICTIM REFERRED TO SILIGURI FOR TREATMENT
SUBASH RAI
GANGTOK, 20 March: “The situation in Singling is peaceful now,” informed DIG [Range] S. Sridhar Rao today. District Collector [West], Santa Pradhan, confirmed this, saying, “No tension prevails anymore in the area and it has developed normalcy as earlier.”
Singling block, under Soreong-Chakung constituency in West Sikkim, had made headlines over the weekend when a clash between supporters of ruling Sikkim Democratic Front and a group opposed to it had left two persons grievously injured and a Minister’s vehicle damaged on the evening of Friday, 18 March.

Political rivalry turns violent in West Sikkim, 2 injured

GANGTOK, 19 March: In clash between supporters of ruling Sikkim Democratic Front and a group opposed to it has left wo persons grievously injured and a Minister’s vehicle damaged by an angry mob last evening at Singling block of Soreong-Chakung constituency in West Sikkim.
One Rajen Tamang of Singling and SDF youth convener of Soreng-Chakung constituency, Jiwan Gurung, were injured in the clash and a government vehicle [SK-02-0009] of the Roads & Bridges Minister, RB Subba, who also happens to be the area MLA, damaged, claim eyewitnesses.