The state government handed over an appointment letter for the post of homeguard to the wife of deceased DYFI leader Maidul Islam Middya in Bankura’s Kotulpur on Friday.

Maidul, a unit secretary of CPM’s youth wing DYFI, died in Calcutta on Monday. The DYFI leader had allegedly suffered injuries during a protest march when Left supporters and police clashed in Calcutta on February 11.

Minister of state and Trinamul’s Kotulpur MLA Shyamal Santra, along with Bankura district magistrate K. Radhika Aiyar and police chief Koteswara Rao, went to Maidul’s home at Chorkola village in Kotulpur on Friday to hand over the appointment letter to Aleya Biwi in the presence of hundreds of villagers.

“Within five days of the assurance of our chief minister, we have handed over the appoint letter to the wife of Maidul Islam Middya. She will join duty at Kotulpur police station as a homeguard soon. We are happy to have been able to help the family consisting of Maidul’s wife and mother and his three daughters,” said Santra.

After receiving the appointment letter, Aleya thanked chief minister Mamata Banerjee for the employment. “I want to thank our chief minister as the job will help us survive. I hope the government will be with us in future,” she said.

Mamata had on Monday announced that the government would provide a job to Maidul’s kin and a team led by Santra had called on the bereaved family the following day to collect necessary documents.

Maidul had taken part in the march to Nabanna demanding jobs for youths and Left Front leaders pointed to the irony that Aleya got employment but at the cost of losing her husband.

“Maidul wanted jobs for all and the government gave his wife a job after snatching her husband away. It is also an irony that Aleya has been given a job in the police department as homeguard while her husband died because of police brutality. The government is trying to erase the crime as no step has been taken to identify and punish the cops responsible for Maidul’s death,” said Pradip Panda, DYFI’s Bankura secretary.

Santra, however, said: “We had to appoint her as homeguard as she needed a job near her house. There is a police outpost around 1.5km away from her village and we will request that she is posted there.”