1984 riot victims stage protest, seek hike in relief

Victims of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots on Thursday staged a protest at Jantar Mantar here, demanding increased compensation from the Centre and the Delhi government.

Victims of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots on Thursday staged a protest at Jantar Mantar here, demanding increased compensation from the Centre and the Delhi government.

A peace march was taken out by the protesters, including dozens of women who were widowed in the riots, from Gurdwara Bangla Sahib to Jantar Mantar.

The Union government had announced additional compensation of Rs 5 lakh to the victims. In December last year, Union home minister Rajnath Singh had distributed cheques among 17 affected families, said Atma Singh Lubana, head of the Victims of 1984 Anti-Sikh Riots Society.

Later, 2,500 other victims submitted their forms, but they were yet to receive the increased compensation, he added.

A delegation led by Lubana later met home ministry officials to submit their memorandum, pointing out that "the Delhi government was not paying them increased compensation on the pretext that it had no budget for the same."

"The officials assured us that the home ministry would write to the Delhi government for expediting payment of compensation," Lubana said.