West Bengal Government compensates victims of Nandigram police firing

MIDNAPORE - The West Bengal Government paid compensatory cheques of Rs one lakh each to 90 of the 159 persons injured in the 2007 Nandigram police firing.

Following a direction from the Supreme Court, the state government compensated all those injured in the violent act.

East Midnapore District Magistrate Archana Meena disbursed cheques amounting to rupees one lakh each to 90 of the 159 persons injured in the police firing on March 14, 2007, in which more than 14 protesting farmers had lost their lives.

“Today we distributed 15 cheques and other victims will be getting the money deposited in their account. We have disbursed the cheques to people on the directive of the Supreme Court,” said Archana Meena.

“We have given out a total of Rs 1.59 crores as payment to those injured who have been listed by the Supreme Court. If I get direction to pay other injured people, I will pay them as well,” she added.

Meanwhile, the Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee-led Government in West Bengal as a balancing act further decided to pay rupees one lakh compensation to families of the dead as well as rape victims that erupted in November the same year.

“On 14 March, 2007, Communist Party of India-Marxist cadres raped me twice. Kajol Majhi, Gouri Pradhan and me, were enlisted to get compensation of rupees two lakhs each, although they have got two lakhs rupees each one f them, I got only one lakh rupees,” said Radharani Ari, a victim.

“The District Magistrate informed me that I am entitled to receive only rupees one lakh because I have been enlisted in the injured list, though everyone knows that I was raped,” she added.

The Supreme Court on October 28 asked the Left Front government of West Bengal not to be selective in paying compensation to the victims of the Nandigram police firing and violence.

The state was reluctant to compensate those who were injured while indulging in arson or launching attacks against the police, but a Bench comprising Justices R V Raveendran and A K Patnaik said it would not permit the Buddhadeb Bhattacharya Government to discriminate in payments to victims on this line.

Asking the State to pay compensation to the injured as expeditiously as possible, it negated the argument of senior advocate K K Venugopal, who stated that the State was not willing to compensate perpetrators of arson and bombing and who got injured in the process.

But the Bench said the Calcutta High Court, while fixing the compensation amounts for the kin of the dead and those raped and other injured persons, had not made any such distinction now sought to be made by the state.

The police firing and violence in Nandigram on March 14, 2007 had left 14 persons dead and 162 injured. In addition, 27 persons were reported missing and several women were raped. (ANI)