Darjeeling district police have suspended a home guard and sacked a civic volunteer from service for allegedly assaulting a cab driver of Sikkim in Darjeeling and extorting money from the vehicle's owner on Wednesday.

Sources said Prem Bahadur Chhetri, the driver from Sikkim, drove to Ghoom on the outskirts of Darjeeling where he dropped a tourist at a private resort.

As he was supposed to return, the home guard and civic volunteer intercepted him. They took him to a police booth and allegedly demanded Rs 5,000 from him on the pretext that he broke traffic rules. When Chhetri told them he didn't have enough cash, the duo reportedly beat him up. The driver contacted the car’s owner in Sikkim. Reportedly, the owner, after hearing his ordeal, transferred Rs 2,000 online around 6pm on Wednesday, which Chhetri handed over to the duo and left.

Later, Chhetri uploaded the entire incident on a social networking site.

As news spread, stakeholders of the tourism industry, including cab drivers of both Sikkim and Darjeeling, informed Praween Prakash, the Darjeeling SP.

“We came to know about the incident on Wednesday. We want stringent steps against offenders who assaulted the cab driver and extorted money. We have written to the superintendent of police,” said Samrat Sanyal, general secretary, the Himalayan Hospitality and Tourism Development Network.

Police sources said that the home guard was promptly suspended and a departmental inquiry was initiated against him. The civic volunteer was sacked.

Anit Thapa, the chief executive of the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration, said: "Such incidents won't be tolerated...."

“I do apologise to the driver of Sikkim for the distress. We are taking steps to prevent such incidents in future,” Thapa said.

Tourist death

Kavita Gadgil, 49, a tourist from Maharashtra, died in a road accident in western Sikkim on Thursday. Sources said Kavita and her husband Rajiv were hit by a vehicle near Rimbi falls.