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Widow seeks Naveen’s help for compensation

BHUBANESWAR: Mali Paleka, a tribal lady whose conviction that her husband Siri Majhi Paleka was not a naxalite but was killed by police officials in a fake counter was asserted by the State Human Rights Commission (SHRC), sought intervention of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik for getting her due compensation.

On August 13 this year SHRC asked the State government to pay a compensation of Rs. 1 lakh to the tribal lady as it did not find any involvement of Siri Majhi Paleka, husband of Mali, of Birubahi village under Rayagada district in naxalite movements.

Mali, mother of two children, was going through the critical phase of her life for upbringing of children after death of her husband.

She is yet to recover from the trauma of the untimely death of her husband in 2006 when she showed courage and knocked doors of SHRC. Tribal lady took up the battle against police and pursued the matter for two years with the SHRC who had held police officials guilty.

“In regard to the circumstances in which Paleka died, we hereby recommended Home Department to grant compensation of Rs. 1 lakh to the widow for death of her husband.

The State shall also take appropriate steps to prosecute the offenders of the death,” SHRC said asking the department to submit compliance report within one month.

As many as four police personnel were summoned by the human rights body and hearing of the case continued for two years.

Mali said nothing had so far been intimated to her pertaining to Rs. 1 lakh compensation which was awarded by the SHRC for the fake encounter. Now the department wanted to mess up the matter, hence Chief Minister’s intervention was sought, she said.

The human rights body in clear term had held the police guilty.

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