₹10 lakh aid for kin of Indians killed in Iraq

NEWDELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday announced an ex-gratia payment of ₹10 lakh to the next of kin of each of 39 Indian workers who were killed in the Iraqi town of Mosul, a government release said.

The mortal remains of 38 Indians killed by the Islamic State were brought to Amritsar in a special IAF aircraft on Monday. They went missing in 2014, and there were conflicting theories about whether or not they were alive. Last month, the government confirmed their deaths.

Minister of state for external affairs VK Singh accompanied the mortal remains to Amritsar from Mosul. He said on Monday that the body of the 39th worker would be brought back as soon as DNA testing was complete.

The workers had gone to Mosul illegally, Singh said on Monday. They were captured by the Islamic State which took over the town of Mosul in 2014. A 40th worker who claimed to have escaped said the others had been shot dead, but the government didn’t accept his story because of alleged inconsistencies in it. Subsequently, after Iraqi forces liberated Mosul, the bodies were discovered using a ground radar and identified using DNA tests. The doctor who carried out the DNA and forensic tests said the tests could only establish that the workers had been killed at least a year ago.

On Monday, while responding to a demand for compensation to the kin of the deceased, Singh said this wasn’t like “distributing biscuits”.