Anticipating that the Calcutta High Court will order compensation to the victims of Netai mayhem on January 19,the state has begun preparations to pay as soon as the directive comes. On Sunday,another person injured in the incident died,taking the total death toll to 9. Arati Modal,50,had received bullet injuries in her abdomen and was undergoing treatment at the SSKM hospital. Sixteen persons injured in the firing are undergoing treatment at various hospitals. Please save us from CPM harmads. Our lives are in ruins, said Tarani Mondal son of Arati at the hospital,before taking her mothers body to his village. A PIL following the January 7 firing had requested the court to direct the state government to,among other things,award compensation to victims. We have asked the DM of West Midnapore to make a list of the victims,inquire about their financial condition so we get fully prepared to pay the money if the High Court delivers such an order, said a senior Home Department official. But if the court does not give any directive,we will wait for the decision of the political executive. On January 7,CPM goons staying at the house of a party leader at Netai village opened fire on a group of villagers who were protesting against their atrocities on the villagers. Five people died on the spot. The six-member team of Election Commission observers headed by Bihar Chief Electoral Officer Sudhir Kumar Rakesh,meanwhile,will have a meeting with both officials of the Kolkata police and the state police on January 18 and January 19. The team will have meeting with the district officials, said Chief Secretary Samar Ghosh.
