As protests in Darjeeling entered their eighth day, Sikkim Chief Minister Pawan Chamling extended support to the demands of a separate Gorkhaland, PTI reported. The chief minister wrote to Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh saying formation of Gorkhaland will provide justice to the “patriotism” of the Indian Gorkhas.

“The creation of a Gorkhaland state will also restore permanent peace and prosperity of the region and Sikkim will be hugely benefited as her developmental tempo can be maintained undisturbed,” he wrote in his letter to Singh dated June 20, according to IANS.

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People in Sikkim have faced problems because of of the protests NH-10, he said. “The blockage of the transportation of essential goods and the unrest causes unmanageable inconvenience,” he wrote. “Also, the atmosphere of uncertainty along NH-10 poses great threat to lives as well.”

Chamling also said that in 2011, the Sikkim Assembly had passed a resolution seeking a “permanent solution to the pressing and longstanding” problem in Darjeeling.

Meanwhile, a case was filed on Thursday against Gorkha Janmukti Morcha chief Bimal Gurung and his wife, Asha, for allegedly being involved in violence, arson and the death of one person during the clashes in Darjeeling, PTI reported. As the indefinite shutdown continued in the hills on Thursday, ambulance services were hit and TV cable connections were snapped in some areas. Internet services remained suspended for the fifth day in Darjeeling.

Violence had recently broken out in Darjeeling after West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had announced her decision to make Bengali compulsory in state-run schools. Though she had said that hill districts will be exempted from the rule, the GJM began an agitation that soon turned into a revival of the demand for a separate state of Gorkhaland.