Bengal police, home min to discuss security, aid for Maoist-hit

KOLKATA: A team of senior West Bengal police officers will hold a meeting with Union home ministry officials on September 22 in a bid to strengthen the security around police stations in Maoist- infested districts in the state. The police team would also proposed for giving financial help to the families of those killed by the Maoists in Lalgarh and Jangalmahal.

Till now, 600 people have been killed by the Maoists in West Bengal and 400 of them belonged to West Midnapore district alone, where Lalgarh is located. "Our officials will try to convince the home ministry officials to help these families financially under a Central government’s assistance to civilian victims scheme," a state police official said.
Another official from the state secretariat said the state government had sent names of 21 persons who had lost their lives in Maoist attacks in West Midnapore district and urged the Centre to provide financial help to their families. From Purulia district, 15 such names were also sent to the Union home ministry.

The secretariat official also said that chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee has recently asked his officials to prepare a complete list of people who were killed by the Maoists in the these three West Bengal districts. "Our government will take up the cases of these poor people with the Centre so that their families can get financial help to run their families," the official informed.

He also said that attempts are also on to include the names of 149 passengers of Gyaneswari Express as victims of Maoists attacks so that their families also get financial help from the Centre. The state government had earlier not too sure whether to consider these passengers as victims of Maoists attacks.

"But, after the CBI arrested some of the key Maoist activists in the Gyaneswari train mishap case, it is now clear that the incident was a handiwork of the red ultras and the families of those passengers who had lost their lives, should also get financial help from Delhi," the secretariat official said.