Rs 5 lakh relief each to kin of 1984 riot victims: Govt

An additional relief of Rs five lakh each to the kin of victims of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots has been approved by the government, the Rajya Sabha was informed today.

"Government has approved the grant of enhanced relief of Rs five lakh per deceased person, who died during 1984 anti-Sikh riots," Minister of State for Home Haribhai Parathibhai Chaudhary said replying to a written question.

Of the 3,325 victims, 2,733 were killed in Delhi alone while rest of the victims were from Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and other states.

The anti-Sikhs riots were triggered following the assassination of the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards on October 31, 1984.

In 2006, the UPA government led by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had announced a package of Rs 717 crore which included monetary compensation of Rs 3.5 lakh to the kin of each killed in the riots besides financial assistance to the injured and those who had lost their property.

Out of this only, Rs 517 crore had been spent and the remaining Rs 200 crore could not be distributed because of dispute over claimants.

The minister also said the central government is administering a scheme titled 'Central Assistance to the Civilian Victims of Terrorist/Communal/Naxal Violence' for the sustenance and maintenance of the families of the civilian victims of terrorist/communal/naxal violence.

Chaudhary said the scheme for assistance to civilian victims of communal violence is effective from April 1, 2008 and under this scheme, an amount of Rs three lakh is given to the next of kin of the victims in the case of death or incapacitation or disability with 50 per cent or more, subject to the condition that no employment has been provided to any of the family members of the victims by the state government.