Kolkata, Jan 31 (IANS): The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has directed the West Bengal government to pay a total compensation of Rs 6 lakh to two tribal women who were harassed at Pakua Hat in Malda district of West Bengal.

The compensation amount, as per the order of the NHRC, should be divided equally among the two victim tribal women.

The commission's instruction has already reached the state secretariat of Nabanna this week, sources said.

State administration faced major embarrassment last year as the police, besides the harassers of the tribal women, also booked two victims. The victims were booked on charges of ransacking Nalagola Police outpost under Bamangola Police Station after the incident.

The state unit of BJP then created a major hue and cry over the matter and also approached NHRC after which a team of the commission made a spot visit and talked to the victims and their family members.

The state government thereafter jumped into a face-saving exercise by initiating departmental proceedings against four officers of Bamangola Police Station.

Initially after a video on the alleged harassment and outrage of modesty surfaced, State Commerce & Industries Minister Sashi Panja claimed that BJP was unnecessarily politicising the Malda matter.

"The Malda incident was a case of theft, where the two women tried to steal something from a local market. In that process a group of women made an attempt to take law & order in their hands. A case has been registered and the police are investigating the matter," Panja had said.