GOVERNMENT has decided to give Rs500,000 ($8,134.52/£5,086.02) each to the next of kin of 3,325 victims of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots triggered after assassination of the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.
The compensation to the families of the anti-Sikh riot victims will be given in addition to what they have so far received from the government and other agencies from time to
time, a senior government official told reporters.
Of the 3,325 victims, 2,733 were killed in Delhi alone while rest of the victims were from Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and other states.
The Narendra Modi Government had received several petitions from various Sikh organisations in last three months and a decision came on the eve of 30th death anniversary of Gandhi.
The fresh compensation, which will cost exchequer Rs 166crore will be disbursed “as early as possible” and hopefully in the next few weeks, the official said.
The anti-Sikhs riots were triggered following the assassination of the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards on October 31, 1984.
