₹7L compensation given to kin of villagers beheaded last yr
JAMSHEDPUR: The bereaved kin of the seven anti- Patthalgadi villagers beheaded by an angry mob of pro- Patthalgadi villagers in Burugulikera village under Gudri police station in Naxal-hit West Singhbhum district received ₹1 lakh compensation each on Tuesday, a year after the gruesome killings took place.
“Compensation of ₹1 lakh to each of the seven victims of Burugulikera massacre has been transferred to the accounts of their nearest kin on Tuesday under the Victim Compensation Act Scheme (VCAS) of the state government. Under the scheme, they are entitled to get a total compensation of ₹4 lakh or more as the court may eventually decide. But the district legal service authority (DLSA) can’t give any amount unless the court convicts the accused and specify the compensation amount to the victims in its final judgment,” Arwa Rajkamal, West Singhbhum deputy commissioner (DC).
The DC said the kin of the victims have so far been given ₹1.95 lakh each. While state government provided ₹20,000 under Family Compensation Scheme (FCS), the DLSA has provided ₹1.75 lakh to each of the seven families under special consideration as this was a rarest of rare case of mass murders.
“All the families are very poor and live in a remote hilly village under thick forest cover right in the middle of the extremism-hit belt of the district. Hence, DLSA chaired by the principal district judge, made it a special exception,” added Rajkamal.
The DC said they would abide by the court order as and when it comes and will pay the remaining amount as per the final compensation award fixed by the court in its final judgment in this case.
“There is no dearth of fund as the state government allotted ₹90 lakh to West Singhbhum district under compensation head for victims of various forms of atrocities like rape, gang-rape, acid attacks and murders etc. The compensation for murder victims of Naxals is more but in any case there can’t be double compensation for one incident,” explained Rajkamal.
From chief minister (CM) Hemant Soren and the state Governor Draupadi Murmu to six-member BJP parliamentary delegation sent by party president JP Nadda and JD-U delegation led by former state president Salkhan Murmu apart from host of MLAs and MPs had visited Burugulikera in the wake of gruesome killings took place on January 19, 2020.