Jodhpur detainees get Centre’s cheques, Cong MLAs laud Capt
AMRITSAR: Handing over cheques of compensation released by the central government to those arrested by the army from the Golden Temple complex during the Operation Bluestar in 1984 and then confined in a Jodhpur prison, Congress MLAs on Friday said the credit for this goes to chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh.
Congress MLA Harminder Singh Gill (Patti segment) and Tarsem Singh DC (Attari segment) accompanied Amritsar deputy commissioner Kamaldeep Singh Sangha to hand over cheques amounting to ₹1.34 crore to 25 detainees from Amritsar district. A total of 365 people, including Gill, were confined in the jail of the neighbouring state. Of them, only 40 had filed compensation suit in court.
An average ₹5 lakh compensation was given to each detainee.
An Amritsar court had directed the Centre and the state government to give compensation of ₹4 lakh each to the 40 detainees with 6 per cent interest since the filing of the suit.
Revoking its appeal filed in the Punjab and Haryana high court to challenge the Amritsar court’s ruling, the Centre on July 2 had disclosed that ₹2.16 crore had been sanctioned to the Punjab government for disbursal to the detainees. The state government has already handed over its 50% share amounting to ₹2.16 crore to the 40 detainees.
“After the Operation Bluestar, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) formed government in Punjab four times, but did not give even a single penny to the Jodhpur detainees. Its leaders have begged for votes raking up the Bluestar issue but never paid heed to lessen the pain of those victimized during and after the operation,” said MLA Gill.
He said, “The CM has been helping the detainees. During his previous tenure, he awarded ₹1 lakh compensation to each of the detainees. Recently, he released compensation and then urged the Centre to release its share.”
He also thanked the central government for the gesture.
Attari MLA Tarsem Singh and Congress leader Sukhjinder Raj Singh Lali Majithia also praised the CM. Of the 40 persons who had filed recovery suit in the Amritsar sessions court, nine have died. All of them belonged to Amritsar district. The deceased’s families had reached to receive the cheques.
“As the Centre also agreed to give compensation to us, the decision to carry out attack on the Golden Temple had proved wrong,” said Jasbir Singh Ghuman, one of the detainees.