State govt takes four months to give ex gratia to Machhil braveheart
ANTEHRI (KURUKSHETRA): It took 86 days for the Haryana government to disburse ex-gratia payment to the family of Machhil braveheart Mandeep Singh, whose body was mutilated by terrorists near the Line of Control.
A cheque of Rs 50 lakh was given to the family on Saturday afternoon only after the family members recently met chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar and threatened to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
But other promises made by the CM are yet to be fulfilled.
“The chief minister had announced to give an ex-gratia of Rs 50 lakh and a government job to my younger son Sandeep. Apart from that he had also promised to construct a memorial on the funeral ground where my son was cremated. But most of the promises are not fulfilled”, martyr Mandeep’s mother Nirmala told Hindustan Times.
Khattar had visited the family and announced an ex-gratia of Rs 50 lakh to Singh’s kin and promised a government job to a family member.
They also claimed that the CM had also promised a promotion for Mandeep’s wife Prerna, who is a constable with the Haryana police.
“Even when we met the chief minister four days ago at his residence in Chandigarh, he assured the demands will be fulfilled, but he refused to accept the demand for Prerna’s promotion,” she said.
She said the chief minister made it clear that the government won’t be able to promote Prerna. “The CM told us that he alone cannot take the decision (of her promotion) and he needs to discuss the matter with his cabinet colleagues,” Nirmala quoted Khattar as saying.
“But the government should think about the future of this girl who lost everything at the age of 26,” she added.
As they have failed to get any immediate assurances from the chief minister, Mandeep’s younger brother Sandeep has reached Delhi to meet the Prime Minister. “We are going to meet the Prime Minister in Delhi and will return only after meeting him”, Sandeep told HT over phone.
“The government should also think about my sister-in-law. If they can promote a medal winner to the post of DSP, why can’t a widow of martyr get a promotion”, he asked.
In October last year, the 26-year-old Sepoy Mandeep Singh of the 17th Sikh regiment was martyred in a gun-fight with militants along LoC in Machill sector of Kashmir. Militants mutilated his body.
On October 30, when his mutilated body reached his native village, thousands of people, including chief minister, Kurukshetra deputy commissioner Sumedha Kataria and other officials of the district administration reached the village to console the family and assured all the support. But now the family members are running from pillar to post to get what had been assured after Singh’s death.
Haryana chief secretary DS Dhesi said , “The martyr certificate which is an essential document for release of financial assistance was received from the army authorities on February 5 and the compensation has now been released.”
Kurukshetra deputy commissioner Sumedha Kataria said she issued the cheque of Rs 50 lakh on Saturday and the money will reach the family member soon. About the delay, she said, “The file was pending with the Sikh regiment and it took 86 days to complete the process.”
She said there was no delay on the part of the state government.
On other demands of the bereaved family, she said steps were being taken to fulfill them, including the construction of the memorial.
BJP’s Kurukshetra MP Rajkumar Saini demanded of the government to fulfill its promises made to the martyr’s family.