Rs 5 lakh? 1984 Sikh riot victims want Rs 20-25 lakh

A delegation of victims of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots have urged Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh to further increase the amount of compensation given to them.

The delegation, led by Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal) national vice president Onkar Singh Thapar, met the home minister at his residence on morning and put forth their demands.

The Narendra Modi government on Thursday announced to give Rs 5 lakh each to the next of kin of 3,325 victims of the anti-Sikh riots triggered after assassination of the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards on October 31, 1984.

"We have also come here to thank Rajnath Singh for increasing the compensation. However, we demand that compensation amount be increased up to Rs 20 lakh or Rs 25 lakh," Thapar said.

During the meeting, the victims also demanded that the pension, which is being given to them, be increased from existing Rs 2,500 to Rs 5,000.

"There are still some accused of anti-Sikh riots who are roaming free. We have also demanded that they immediately be punished. We won't sit silent until they are punished," Thapar added.

In 2006, the UPA government led by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had announced a package of Rs 717 crore which included monetary compensation of Rs 3.5 lakh to each killed in the riots besides financial assistance to injured and those who had lost their property.

Out of this only Rs 517 crore were spent and the remaining Rs 200 crore could not be distributed because of dispute over claimants.

The most affected were the Sikh neighbourhoods in Delhi.

Some of the riot cases are still continuing in courts and many Sikh organisations have alleged that the key conspirators of the violence were at large and victims have not yet got justice.