Date:05/12/2007 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2007/12/05/stories/2007120561501600.htm

National

“Less than a hundred in relief camps”

Special Correspondent

Indication of normality in Nandigram: official

State to pay Rs. 5 lakh to bereaved families
To look into complaint against local police

KOLKATA: The number of those sheltered in relief camps outside Nandigram after abandoning their homes there in the face of hostilities in the past few months has come down to less than 100, West Bengal Home Secretary Prasad Ranjan Ray said here on Tuesday.

This was an indication of normality returning to the area, he pointed out.

The State government would give Rs. 5 lakh to the next of kin of those who killed in the police firing and subsequent violence on March 14 in the area.

This was in accordance with a directive of the Calcutta High Court. “The process to provide the compensation is on, though the amount is yet to be sanctioned,” Mr. Ray said.

The administration was seeking clarifications on the compensation to be given to the injured and alleged victims of rape as directed by the High Court.

On a complaint that the local police released a person apprehended by the Central Reserve Police Force in the area, Mr. Ray said necessary action would be taken against the official concerned.

The State’s intelligence agency was looking into reports of activities of Maoists in Nandigram, he added.