Poll officer's wife gets Rs 10 lakh compensation

Kolkata: The state Election Commission handed over compensation of Rs 10 lakh to the wife of Rajkumar Roy, who died while performing election duty in May, 2018 during the panchayat elections in Bengal. The compensation was given through the District Magistrate of North Dinajpur.

DM Arvind Kumar Mina handed over the cheque to Arpita Roy Barman, wife of the deceased, on Thursday. Earlier, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had handed over compensation worth Rs 5 lakh to the deceased's wife, who was also given a job in the DM office.

"We have already handed over a cheque of Rs 5 lakh to her on May 23, 2018. After the government's approval, she joined my office on July 16, 2018. On Thursday, we gave her Rs 10 lakh, which has been sanctioned by the state Election Commission," said Mina.

During elections, the DM acts as electoral officer in the respective districts.

On May 14, 2018 Rajkumar Roy went missing while on his way to Sonapur Primary School in Itahar block for joining the electoral duty. He was a teacher of Karandighi Rahatpur High Madrasah. The next day, his body was recovered from the railway tracks under Raiganj block.

The Opposition had alleged that Roy was murdered.

Arpita Roy Burman thanked the DM after receipt of the cheque.