Surendra Kafle/Surya Gautam

Rakam (Surkhet), January 25

More than a month has passed but the 30 Dalit families here who lost their houses and belongings in the violence between Maoists and security personnel are yet to get compensation or relief. The clashes between security forces and Maoists had occurred on December 23 in Poolpeej in Rakam.

During the search operations for Maoists, security forces burnt down the houses of these Dalits. The forces accused them of hiding the Maoists. They shooed out all inmates at gunpoint and torched the dwellings, said locals. Laxman Pariyar, who lost his house, said, "Except for the shirt on my back, everything went up in smoke. I got nothing from the government. Had it not been for food and clothes given by other villagers, I would have died." The victims, however, are scared of making it official who actually set fire to their houses. They claimed that they were beaten up on charges of providing shelter to Maoists.

The children were more forthcoming, saying that security personnel had burnt the houses. Villagers said that the Maoists had rebuilt two houses and had promised to do more.

They fear getting labelled as Maoist supporters and are afraid of more savage action by the security forces.

The victims confessed that neither the Maoists nor the government had given concrete help.