Punjab CM meets family members of gurudwara shooting victims

Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal on Tuesday assured family members of the victims of the shooting incident in United States that the state government will bear all expenditure of the transportation of the bodies to India -- for cremation at their native places.

Badal contacted Indian Ambassador to US Nirupama Rao on telephone on Monday night and informed her that the Punjab government would extend all possible help to the bereaved families of the victims of the ghastly incident.

The chief minister also sought cooperation from the Indian Embassy in the US to facilitate the smooth transportation of the bodies by maintaining a close liaison with the concerned agencies in the US government, according to an official spokesman.

On Monday, Badal visited the family members of Sita Singh and Ranjit Singh, who were killed in the shootout incident, to express his grief, the spokesman said.

Badal also announced an ex-gratia amount of Rs one lakh each to the next of kin of the victims.

On Monday, Badal had asked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to take up with the Obama administration the issue of safety and security of Sikhs living in the US.

Meanwhile, Punjab's Deputy Chief Minister and Shiromani Akali Dal President Sukhbir Singh Badal on Tuesday urged the US government to ensure protection of Sikhs and Punjabis residing in the country and to take appropriate steps to ensure that such incidents do not happen in the future.

Sukhbir, who discussed at length the whole incident in a meeting held on Tuesday with Maheshinder Singh Grewal, advisor to the state chief minister, and party secretary and spokesman Daljit Singh Cheema, also sent a written memorandum to the US ambassador.

In the memorandum, Sukhbir asked the US ambassador to take immediate steps to safeguard the interest of the Sikhs and other Punjabis residing in the US.