Bandh observed in north Bengal hills demanding justice for murdered school girl

A 15-year-old school girl was bludgeoned to death during an attempted rape inside a jungle at Matigara in north Bengal’s Siliguri region on Monday

The political parties in the Darjeeling and Kalimpong hills in north Bengal observed a bandh on Saturday to protest against the murder of a teenage school girl earlier this week.

While most offices, educational institutions and markets remained closed, vehicles remained off the roads in the Darjeeling and Kalimpong hills. (Representative Image)

Life was virtually paralysed in the hills. While most offices, educational institutions and markets remained closed, vehicles remained off the roads.

Many Sikkim-bound tourists got stranded as traffic on National Highway-10, which forms the lifeline of the Himalayan region, was hit.

The 24-hour general strike was called by the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha, Communist Party of Revolutionary Marxists (CPRM) and Hamro Party.

A 15-year-old school girl was bludgeoned to death during an attempted rape inside a jungle at Matigara in north Bengal’s Siliguri region on Monday. The prime suspect, a 19-year-old, was arrested in less than 24 hours, police had said.

The incident triggered wide-spread protests in north Bengal. Candle light marches were also organised.

The last time the hills observed a bandh was in 2017 when a 104-day-long strike was organised demanding a separate state of Gorkhaland.