Four Himachal workers cremated
DHARAMSHALA: The mortal remains of four construction workers hailing from Himachal Pradesh, who were among 39 Indians killed by the Islamic State (IS) terror group in Iraq, were consigned to flames at their native villages on Tuesday.
Bodies of the four deceased were brought to Dharamshala from Amritsar late on Monday evening and handed over to the families on Tuesday morning.
The four deceased, included Aman Kumar, 26, a resident of Passu village near Dharamshala town, Inderjeet Singh, 27, hailed from Kadreti village in Dehra sub-division,SandeepKumar,38, from Dhameta village in Jawali sub-division of Kangra district and Hem Raj, 32, was a native of Bayala village of Sundernagar area in Mandi district.
Hundreds of villagers paid their last respect to the deceased, amid wailing relatives and parents. On behalf of the government, sub-divisional magistrates of the respective sub-divisions, were present at the cremation and assured the families all the possible help.
The four-year-long wait for the families of four men ended abruptly on March 20 when external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj informed the Parliament that all 39 Indians abducted by IS have been killed in Iraq.
The four men from Himachal had left for Iraq in September 2013 in search of livelihood and were abducted by IS terror group terrorists in June 2014. Family members had a last conversation with them two-three days after they were abducted. Thier bodies were found burried under a mound using a ground penetration radar by Iraqi authorities.
‘TAKE ACTION AGAINST TRAVEL AGENTS’
Meanwhile, Raman Kumar, brother of one of the deceased Aman, said the government should take strict action against the illegal travel agent who had sent them to Iraq.
“Also, the government should create enough employment opportunities here in India so that the youth here doesn’t have to go abroad in search of employment,” Kumar said.
Aman is survived by his grandmother, parents and brother.
Pardesi Ram, father of another killed labourer Inderjeet, also asked for an action against illegal travel agents.
He alleged that the travel agent sent his son to Iraq instead of sending him to Saudi Arabia as was promised by him. “He also threatened to forfeit ₹1.3 lakh that Inderjeet had paid to the him if he refused to go to Iraq,” said Ram.
However, the family of another victim Sandeep Kumar demanded the government to provide job to his wife Chandresh. Sandeep, who is survived by his aging parents, wife and two children, was the sole breadwinner of the family.
Hemraj, who hailed from Mandi district, is survived by his wife, two children, beside aging parents and grandparents. His wife Nirmla Devi said the government should provide her a job as she has two kids and Hemraj’s family to look after.
Meanwhile, the state government has provided an ex-gratia relief of ₹4 lakh each to the kin of the deceased, while Prime Minister Narender Modi on Tuesday announced an ex-gratia payment of ₹10 lakh each to the next of the kin of all the 39 deceased Indians.