56 riots-hit families get relief after 25 yrs

[AKaur2]

Chandigarh, Punjab: Waking up from slumber after 25 years, the government has given a sum of Rs 1.12 crore as ex-gratia grant to as many as 56 families of victims of 1984 anti-Sikh riots, who had migrated from the affected states and are presently residing in Moga district.

Cheques of Rs 2 lakh each were presented to these families by senior SAD leader Jathedar Tota Singh in the presence of officials of the local administration at a function held in the district administrative complex here, today.

Earlier, an ex-gratia grant of Rs 2 lakh each was provided to 193 victim families in April 2006 and 13 families in February 2009, who are presently residing in the district.

While distributing the cheques, the SAD leader termed the 1984 riots as one of the biggest tragedies faced by any community after the partition of India.

Tota Singh said the Punjab government and the SAD, in particular, were committed to providing ex-gratia relief to families of the victims. “The state government has instructed the respective district administration to complete all formalities of left-out families so that they can get financial assistance,” he said.

On the recent order of a Delhi court giving life imprisonment to three accused persons involved in the riots, he said all culprits named in these cases needed to be punished as per the law on the basis of evidences of eyewitnesses.