Preeti Rathi’s family to be paid Rs2 lakh as compensation

Three years after the death of Preeti Rathi, the Mumbai District Legal Service Authorities (MDLSA) ordered that her parents be paid Rs 2 lakh in compensation and an additional Rs 2,000 for funeral expenses.

Three years after the death of Preeti Rathi, the Mumbai District Legal Service Authorities (MDLSA) ordered that her parents be paid Rs 2 lakh in compensation and an additional Rs 2,000 for funeral expenses.

While the Indian Railways paid her medical expenses, which totaled Rs 20 lakh, Rathi’s father Amarsingh, a cancer patient, approached MDLSA last year seeking compensation under Maharashtra Victim Compensation Scheme as dependants of Rathi.

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A committee set up to evaluate Amarsingh’s claim noted that he is a heart patient and suffers from cancer, while Rathi’s mother Roshani and brother Hitesh are unemployed.

“In the peculiar circumstances we are of the opinion that if the victim had been alive, she would have earned a salary after joining services of nurse and would have maintained aged parents. Thus we unanimously decided that the [father and mother] of the victim were her dependents. They are entitled to compensation,” the committee said.

While deciding the compensation amount, the committee noted that Rathi would have earned Rs 55,000 a month plus allowances from her job in Mumbai.

This, the committee found, amounted to an annual loss of Rs 4.40 lakh and a lifetime loss of Rs 74.80 lakh for Preeti’s family.

However, the committee said the scheme prescribes a maximum compensation of Rs 2 lakh for loss of life and Rs 2,000 for funeral expenses.