Ex-gratia to kin of 2 killed in firing on hold pending probe
BENGALURU: The compensation for the families of the two people who died in protests against the amended citizenship law in Mangaluru has been put on hold till the completion of an investigation into last week’s violence, Karnataka chief minister BS Yediyurappa said on Wednesday.
On December 19, 49-year-old Jaleel and 23-year-old Nausheen died of firearm injuries during protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act or CAA, which is aimed at fast-tracking the grant of Indian citizenship to members of religious minorities from Muslim-majority Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan. Manguluru police commissioner PS Harsha had said that the police were forced to open fire in self-defence. The state has ordered a magisterial inquiry into the clashes.
Yediyurappa met the families of the deceased on Saturday and announced a compensation of ~10 lakh each for the next of the kin. However, a day after the police released videos purportedly showing protesters hurling stones at security personnel and trying to destroy CCTV cameras, the CM said: “We have not decided yet to give ex-gratia to the family members of those killed in the police firing…it is now clear that it (the Mangaluru violence) was a conspiracy... “
Defending the decision, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) parliamentarian Shobha Karandlaje said: “Nowhere in the world are criminals compensated. So there is no question of government money being paid unless the investigation is complete.”
Slamming the decision, former CM and senior Congress leader Siddaramaiah tweeted: “An elected government should never be so cruel and inhuman. As expected, the Chief Minister pronounced his verdict even before the inquiry.”
CPI OFFICE ATTACKED
Meanwhile, in Bengaluru, unidentified persons an office of
Communist Party of India (CPI) located in Malleshwaram area was attacked by some unknown miscreants early on Wednesday. Miscreants are said to have poured petrol on the premises of the CPI office and set it ablaze around 1 am. While there has been no loss of life, six bikes parked near the compound of the office were damaged. A case has been registered.
Sathi Sundaresh, the state general secretary of CPI, claimed that the arson was due to the active participation of the party and its cadres in the anti-caa protests. He said his party would continue to exercise its right of dissent in a democracy as enshrined by the constitution.
(With agency inputs)