Panel for relief to anti-Sikh riots victims in J‘khand fails to deliver

RANCHI: The functioning of a oneman commission, set up by the Jharkhand high court in 2016 to expedite the process of compensation to 1984 anti-Sikh riot victims in the state, has got delayed due to non-supply of proper logistics and infrastructure by the government.

Taking note of this, the Jharkhand high court on Friday asked the commission to furnish its demands within two weeks so that the state could be asked to arrange proper facilities for its smooth functioning.

Unofficial figures say 95 people were killed while many others injured during the riots that took place in various parts of the state in 1984.

Bokaro was the worst-hit area in the state.

The high court on May 20, 2016, had set up a one-man commission chaired by justice DP Singh (retd) to expedite the process of payment of compensation to 1984 anti-Sikh riot victims.

It also took umbrage on the fact that the state government even after a lapse of 31 years of the incident had no clear picture about the status of the criminal cases registered then in 1984.

The court had, therefore, set up the commission to look into the matter to ensure payment of compensation to the victim/kith and kin of the victims of 84 riots in terms of the government’s circular in vogue.

It had fixed ₹1 lakh per month remuneration for the one-man commission, which was asked to hold sittings at least twice in a month and monitor the progress on the payment of compensation.

The commission will function till all the victims are paid compensation, the court had said. But the commission could not carry out its work due to inadequate infrastructure facilities.

Earlier, justice DP Singh (retd) had written to the chief justice that despite reminders to the state government for providing office, vehicle and staff, nothing was done.

He had said that he needed to travel different districts across the state to assess the ground reality of the riot victims and required office staffs like stenographer and others.

The state government, which had sought the court’s direction to the commission to conclude its job in a time-bound manner, submitted a list of logistics it had provided to the commission. According to it, the government provided pens, pencils, paper bundles, stenographer on ad hoc basis for six months and others.

A division bench headed by chief justice Ravi Ranjan on Friday asked the commission to furnish a list of its demands regarding logistics and infrastructure within two weeks.

The court’s order came on PIL filed two Jamshedpur residents Satnam Singh Gambhir and Balwindar Kaur.

Kaur is a witness of the incident in which all male members of her family were killed.

Gambhir, in an application submitted in the high court, alleged that the commission didn’t hold a single sitting in last one year.

“Even after its inception over three years ago, the commission failed to recommend compensation for a single victim, despite the fact that the government had been paying ₹1 lakh monthly remuneration to it,” he alleged.

Gambhir’s lawyer Diwakar Upadhyay said: “Thousands of FIRs were lodged across the state, the maximum one in Bokaro, after 1984 anti-Sikh riots. On the basis of these FIRs, the victims were expected to get compensation for the damages caused to their property. The commission is yet to decide compensation to the victims.”

UNOFFICIAL FIGURES SAY 95 PEOPLE WERE KILLED AND MANY OTHERS INJURED DURING THE 1984 RIOTS IN THE STATE