Incoherence and general all round confusion mar college situation RANJIT SINGH

GANGTOK, 15 July: The day began and ended with all the ingredients of how not to handle a bad situation. Confusion, lack of clarity, lack of proactive initiative by higher authorities, lack of proper communication channels and most of all, lack of a standard procedure, all proved to be the bane of the state administration; the culmination of such lapses was the use of force on the students of the government colleges in order to disperse them and free the national highway. Just as the students appeared to be dispersing on their own and with only a handful of them left at the end of the day at around 6 pm, a fracas involving some of the people who had gathered with the students and the East District Magistrate led to a second day when the students had to face the brunt of police force – tear gas this time. There was much chaos then and some arson as well.
Several rounds of tear gas were fired by the police into the crowd of students and those who had gathered in support. Even as the students dispersed, the onlookers who had crowded every vantage point in Tadong also stampeded, as did a section of the cops who took to their heels when the students lobbed stones. However, the police gathered soon gathered themselves and began targeting those who were pelting stones. The students were chased right down the alleys and pathways below the college and Tadong bazaar.
While this helped to disperse and open the blockade, in the process several students were again injured. Some were also beaten in the initial lathi charge. Several parked vehicles were damaged in the stone throwing and it is reported that a vehicle was also set on fire. Police action with tear gas continued for about an hour. Some stone pelters were picked up by the police.
Students of the Government College Tadong had once more opted to blockade the national highway outside the college gates in a pressure tactic to get the state administration to give in to their demands. They were also supported by students of Law College and TNSS.
This was following the assurance of the state administration, particularly the DM, East, AK Singh, that an enquiry would be conducted on the police lathi charge of 14 July in which several students were injured. Considering the stand of the students that the police lathicharge was unprovoked and brutal, the assurance of the DM was never going to satisfy the student body and soon enough at around 11 a.m. the students came out of the college in force and blocked the national highway.
Once more the general public had to suffer with the entire highway traffic coming to a standstill. The highway remained blocked for the rest of the day. Stranded passengers could be seen carrying their own baggage and making their way on foot past the protesting students in the hope of finding a taxi on the other end to take them up to the main bazaar area. Soon the traffic police also began diverting the traffic moving out of Gangtok towards Ranka.
All this while it was left to the DM, East, AK Singh to “negotiate” and try to make some sort of peace with the agitating students. The demand of the students was also something which no administration could have granted without conducting an enquiry.
The students were demanding immediate suspension of the SP, East, Manoj Tiwari for his role in the lathi charge on them on 14 July and also suspension of the SHO, Sadar Thana and other police personnel of Sadar thana and Tadong police outpost.
A protest and demonstration which began with the demand for a roll back on the fee hike of the government colleges had now transformed into direct confrontation with the administration by the students. In fact, the demand of the students was also not coherent as at times they wanted the SP, East to come and apologize and at other times some others wanted that he be terminated from service.
Also in his role as chief negotiator, the DM, AK Singh was severely manhandled by a section of the mob. In the fracas, the driver of the ADM, Aishwarya Singh was also injured and suffered a dislocated shoulder. This took place in the early afternoon. Soon after this incident the DM, East asked for the riot police to be brought in. The sight of police in riot gear including the SP, East, further aggravated the students, and everyone involved including general public settled in for a long standoff.
Finally at around 4:20 pm with the arrival of Home Secretary, HRDD Secretary and Additional DGP, it was believed that some intent had finally come over the state administration to negotiate with the students and they would manage to diffuse the standoff. However, it was a very hasty and spiritless effort on the part of the senior officials.
The panacea presented by the Home Secretary was that the state had issued a notification on the constitution of an enquiry into the lathi charge against the students on 14 July. This was just a repetition of what the DM, East had to tell the students earlier on during the day and, as expected, did not cut much ice with them.
Therefore, the standoff continued and the senior negotiators returned leaving the situation once more at the hands of the DM and SP. Just as the situation appeared to be settling down finally, a group gathered in support of the students heckled and manhandled the DM again. The DM and police personnel with him pushed them back and then the situation collapsed with the students charging with stones and the tear gas shelling ordered.