Latehar:
In Jharkhand, the Badaniya villagers of Latehar are trapped between Maoists and police forces. In an encounter between the two on the 15th of April, 5 villagers lost their lives. After countless accusations and counter accusations between Maoists and the police, finally the Jharkhand government has awarded compensation to the villagers; the question, though is, will the money bring any cheer to the villagers.
Five lakh rupees is the Jharkhand government's compensation to the families of each of the five villagers killed in Latehar in the encounter.
Villagers are angry. They allege those killed were actually innocent villagers shot at point blank range by the security forces. After much hue and cry, and a train hijack by Maoists in support of the villagers, the state government ordered an enquiry.
"This enquiry report has been submitted to the state government and it's up to them to take further action," said Rahul Kumar Purvar, District Collector, Latehar.
Officials are silent about the contents of the report but sources have told NDTV that the report merely mentions that those killed had no criminal background. It does not mention anything about who killed them, something that has left relatives angry.
"I am taking the compensation but until the police are punished," said Phulmani Bodhra, mother of villager killed.
But fixing responsibility for the incident is something both the government and the Maoists are unwilling to do and that's what is keeping tempers high.