The police on Friday night arrested Vikram Rai, media manager of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha, reported ANI. Party chief Bimal Gurung is believed to be underground since weapons were found at his office during raids on Thursday.

As Darjeeling on Friday remained shut on the second day of the indefinite strike called by the GJM, the Centre decided to hold back the additional forces it was sending to the hill district. The Centre said that it would send the additional 400 paramilitary personnel only after the state government submits a report on the situation.

“We will take a decision on sending additional paramilitary forces only when we make an assessment of the prevailing situation,” an unidentified Home Ministry official told The Indian Express. “It is possible only when we receive a report from the state government.” The Centre had asked for the report on June 13.

Protestors on Friday vandalised government vehicles on NH10 and set a medical unit on fire. They also torched a customer care centre of the West Bengal State Electricity Development Corporation Limited. Frequent patrols were conducted by the Army in sensitive areas to avoid untoward incidents.

The unrest started after Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee announced her decision to make Bengali language compulsory in state-run schools. However, she had said that the hill districts would be exempted from the rule, but the GJM started an agitation which soon turned into a revival of the demand for a separate state of Gorkhaland.