Chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday announced that the Bengal government would provide the job of a special home guard and compensation of Rs 4 lakh each to the families of those who had been kidnapped by Maoists in Jungle Mahal districts and remained untraced for the past 10 years.
The announcement fulfils a long-standing demand of the families who had been victims of Maoist terror that had gripped vast stretches of Jungle Mahal districts in the last few years of the Left Front government before Mamata took over as chief minister in 2011.
The move is seen as Mamata’s attempt to reach out to the crucial Jungle Mahal voters who had not been kind to the Trinamul Congress in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. The BJP had bagged five out of the six Lok Sabha seats and Trinamul had lagged behind the BJP in 31 of 40 Assembly segments in the Jungle Mahal districts in 2019.
“Several people in the Jungle Mahal had been kidnapped by Maoists and remained untraced even after 10 years. The government will provide Rs 4 lakh in compensation and a job as special home guard to a family member of such a person,” said the chief minister during her administrative meeting in West Midnapore’s Kharagpur on Tuesday.
Sources said a similar compensation package would be given to the family members of those killed by the Maoists in the state in keeping with a promise by the chief minister. At an administrative meeting of Mamata in Kharagpur on Tuesday, family members of four persons killed by Maoists were given cheques for Rs 4 lakh each and letters appointing them as special home guard in police.
Sources have said there are around 1,300 persons, mostly CPM workers and leaders, who were either killed or kidnapped by the Maoists since 2009 in four Jungle Mahaldistricts — West Midnapore, Jhargram, Purulia and Bankura.
The families of the victims had formed the Shahid Paribar Joutha Mancha last year and started a movement demanding compensation from the government. The leaders of the platform said they had a record of 102 persons who had been kidnapped by Maoists and remained missing.
“As these families of Maoist terror did not get compensation, they voted against us. Many of these families had even voted for the BJP to teach us a lesson. The decision to compensate the families of Maoist terror will help pacify their anger against us ahead of the Assembly polls,” said a Trinamul leader in Bankura.
Uday Singha, president of the platform for families of Maoist victims in West Midnapore, said: “It is a victory for us as four persons were given compensation on Tuesday. The family members of all those killed by the Maoists will also receive similar compensation. We are very happy with the chief minister’s announcement.”
Farm labourer and resident of Bankura’s Sarenga Bhairav Rana’s mother Chunipala Rana, who was a CPM supporter, was kidnapped by Maoists in 2010. She remains untraced till Tuesday.
“We were waiting for years to get the compensation and I am happy that finally the chief minister has understood our problem,” said Rana.
The platform was about to launch a movement next week in all the four Jungle Mahal districts ahead of Durga Puja to push their demand.
“We had already planned to launch our protest from next week in support of our demand. The announcement has been made but we want to see how long the government takes to implement it,” said Bidhan Duley, the Bankura president of the outfit.
That the Jungle Mahal districts are on Mamata’s priority list became clear with the chief minister promoting 4,284 junior constables to control Maoist activities to the post of constables on Tuesday.
“We are promoting those junior constables who were appointed to combat the Maoists in Jungle Mahal districts and have completed five years in service. The 4,284 junior constables will be promoted as constables,” she said.
Police sources said the junior constables were the local youths of Jungle Mahal districts and had been recruited after Trinamul came in power.
Mamata also announced on Tuesday that a family member of those persons killed in elephant attacks, mainly in the Jungle Mahal districts and north Bengal, would get government jobs as a home guard.
“We have decided that we will provide a job as special home guard to a family member of a person killed in elephant attack. The incidents of deaths by elephants takes place in Jhargram, West Midnapore, Bankura, Purulia and in a few north Bengal districts,” said the chief minister.
Sources in the forest department have said around 30 persons are killed every year in jumbo attacks in the districts of Jhargram, Bankura, Purulia, Jalpaiguri and Alipurduar.
