Sultanpur Lodhi gurdwara clash: 3 months on, slain home guard’s kin still await ex-gratia
After the death of the constable – Jaspal Singh, 50, of Kapurthala’s Maniala village – the Punjab chief minister had announced ₹2 crore financial assistance for his family, of which ₹1 crore was to be given as ex-gratia by the government and the remainder would be paid by the insurance company.
Three months after a home guard was killed in a violent clash between the Punjab Police and Nihang Sikhs over control of Gurdwara Akal Bunga in Kapurthala’s Sultanpur Lodhi, his family are yet to receive the ex-gratia amount.
After the death of the constable – Jaspal Singh, 50, of Kapurthala’s Maniala village – the Punjab chief minister had announced ₹2 crore financial assistance for his family, of which ₹1 crore was to be given as ex-gratia by the government and the remainder would be paid by the insurance company. The state police had also announced that the slain cop’s two sons will be given compassionate appointments.
The constable’s family refused to comment over the prolonged delay in providing ex-gratia payment to the family. Nirvair Singh, a sarpanch of Maniala village, said the matter was already in notice of senior police officials, who have assured the family that they will receive the ex-gratia amount soon.“The state government has already employed Jaspal’s younger son as constable in the Punjab Police,” he said.
Senior superintendent of police Vatsala Gupta said there has been no delay in providing the announced ex-gratia amount to the aggrieved family as the file related to the same is already in process. “The family was recently handed welfare funds and ex-gratia will also be provided in coming days,” she said.
Punjab home guards divisional commandant Charanjit Singh said all formalities have been completed, only a few approvals remain. “We have handed over a cheque of ₹5 lakh from the welfare fund. We are hopeful that the file related to the ex gratia will be cleared in the coming week,” he said.