Army and paramilitary forces from the Border Security Force were called out and curfew clamped over large areas of Siliguri in North Bengal on Friday.

Police firing and lathicharge failed to disperse rampaging mobs that went berserk over alleged derogatory remarks by a radio jockey about the latest singing sensation from Darjeeling hills, Prasant Tamang.

The pitched battle with police that raged for nearly three hours on the streets and bylanes left about fifty injured including three top police officers.

Many had been admitted to hospital with critical injuries, official sources said. Even as Prasant Tamang, the butt of a crude joke by Delhi-based RJ Jonathan N Brady of Radio FM, appealed for peace and calm, an alarmed chief minister Buddhadev Bhattacherjee ordered the state administration to initiate legal action against the popular radio anchor.

“We cannot allow irresponsible remarks that could be potentially dangerous and hurting to a particular community,”  Mr Bhattacherjee stated in Bengal capital.

“I felt very bad when I heard the comment (by the RJ). I appeal to everyone to maintain calm,” Tamang said in his message to cool down tempers.

A day after Tamang won the reality show, the radio jockey reportedly derided the victory saying that if chowkidars start singing and win music competitions, one can possibly imagine the quality and standard the modern musical  extravaganzas have been degenerating into.

The state government has initiated a case against the radio channel for inciting the sentiments of the hill people while a team from the state police will shortly leave for Delhi to take suitable action against the channel.

Of the three hill subdivisions, Kalimpong witnessed a total bundh. Mobs marching under the banner of Tamang Fans Club burnt Brady in effigy in Darjeeling.

RJ says sorry

Meanwhile, the radio jockey has apologised to Tamang, PTI adds from New Delhi. A spokesperson of the Delhi-based Red FM channel said that radio jockey Nitin has tendered “an apology if he had unintentionally hurt the sentiments of anyone.”

“The RJ also had a telephonic interview with Tamang two days ago and the singer had told him that there was nothing of that sort which was derogatory to him,” he said.