The high court has ordered Bengal’s chief conservator of forests to pay Rs 5 lakh each in compensation to the widows of two Sunderbans fishermen who had died in a tiger attack while they ventured into the core area of the forest.
The January 18 order by Justice Sabyasachi Bhattacharya is a landmark, wildlife activists said. This is the first time family members of a person killed in a tiger attack in the Sunderbans will be compensated following a court order, they said.
The compensation has been allotted to Sarojini Mondal, wife of deceased Sambhu Mondal, and Saraswati Auliya, wife of Radhakanta Auliya.
Both the fishermen, residents of Lahiripur gram panchayat in Gosaba, were killed together on October 17, 2019, while fishing in the Panchamukhani forest area.
While the widows fought the case themselves they were supported by a fisherman’s association and the non-profit Sunderbans Byaghrobidhoba Samity, an organisation of tiger widows, a term used for women widowed by tiger attacks.
“We are yet to receive the order. Once we receive it, we will comply with it as per government direction,” a senior forest department official said on Saturday.
“The petitioners in both cases are entitled to full compensation under the Government Order dated February 26, 2021, for loss of lives of their respective husbands,” said the judge in his order.
The two writ petitions were taken up together for hearing because of their similar nature.
While Sambhu was first attacked by the tiger, Radhakanta was killed while trying to save his friend. Radhakanta’s body was dragged away by the tiger into the jungle and could not be traced. Sambhu’s body was retrieved.
In both cases, death certificates have been produced along with other certificates and police reports, which corroborate with each other to indicate that the death of both the victims occurred in a tiger attack in the Sunderbans, the judge said.
“The only defence of the respondent authorities for refusing to grant compensation under the prevalent scheme to the widows of the deceased... is that the victims were fishing in a prohibited area where entry was restricted. The concerned Government Order relating to compensation dated February 26, 2021, clearly provides… that the compensation would be payable in terms of the rates given therein to the victims or the legal heirs of the victims of depredation caused by wild animals,” pointed out Justice Bhattacharya.
The judge added that even in case of any violation regarding entry, the punishment would be grossly disproportionate to the violation committed.