By IANS
Kolkata : Complying with the Calcutta High Court order, the West Bengal government has paid compensation to the kin of 13 of the 14 people killed in the March 14 police firing in Nandigram region of East Midnapore district.
“Compensation cheques were handed over to the relatives of all the victims of the March 14 firing in Nandigram except one whose body was yet to be identified,” District Magistrate Anup Agarwal said.
Local reports said Nandigram I block development officer (BDO) Santiram Gorai went to Sonachura, Kalicharanpur, Southkhali, Jalpai, Keshabpur and Parulbari Sunday and handed over the cheques.
On Nov 16, the Calcutta High Court had directed the state government to pay the compensation within a month.
The court had asked the government to pay compensation of Rs.500,000 each to the families of those who died in the firing, Rs.200,000 each to three women who were raped and Rs.100,000 each to 162 people who were injured in the firing.
“The compensation was paid in accordance with the order,” the district magistrate said.
The state government had appealed to the Supreme Court to set up a committee to prepare a list of the injured. But no such panel was formed. The apex court will hear the case again Jan 28.
The Trinamul Congress-led Bhoomi Uchchhed Pratirodh Committee (BUPC) had said it would file a contempt case against the government for violating the court’s order.
Nandigram, located about 150 km from Kolkata, flared up in January 2007 over proposed land acquisition for a special economic zone (SEZ), including a chemical hub in collaboration with Indonesia’s Salim group – a plan that was scrapped by the state government later in the face of stiff resistance.
According to official figures, 35 people have died in Nandigram violence since January with a fresh bout of violence unleashed in November after cadres of the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) allegedly recaptured their lost bases in the area by launching a massive onslaught on the BUPC.