Pulwama attack: Bihar CM announces Rs 25L additional assistance for two CRPF personnel’s kin

PATNA: Bihar CM Nitish Kumar on Saturday announced that each of the kin of two CRPF personnel from Bihar martyred in Pulwama terror attack would be given financial assistance of Rs 25 lakh from CM Relief Fund apart from the ex-gratia of Rs 11 lakh. This is perhaps first time that state government had announced additional financial assistance apart from ex-gratia.

Nitish made the announcement immediately after laying wreath on the mortal remains of Sanjay Kumar Singh and Ratan Kumar Thakur at Patna airport which had reached through a special Indian Air Force (IAF) aircraft on Saturday morning.

40 CRPF personnel, travelling in a bus, were killed in a suicide car bombing attack on national highway at Pulwama in Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday afternoon. The bus was a part of a massive convoy which was reporting at least 2,600 CRPF personnel for deployment in violence hit areas of J&K.

Singh and Thakur were also travelling on the same bus. While Singh was from Taregana Mutth under Masaurhi police station area in Patna, Thakur was from Ratanpur village under Amdanda police station area in Bhagalpur.

“The financial assistant of Rs 25 lakh to each of the martyr’s families would be paid in addition to the ex-gratia of Rs 11 lakh as per state government rules,” he said.

He also said that DMs of Patna and Bhagalpur were directed to assess the other requirements from the children of both martyrs including the expenses on their education so that it could be also bore by the state government.

“This assessment would also be made within a day or two,” Nitish said.

While martyr Singh had two daughters named Ruby Kumari (24) and Vandana Kumari (22) and son Om Prakash Kumar (19), Thakur has a four year old son while his wife Rajnandini is presently pregnant.

Patna DM Kumar Ravi said that Singh’s both daughter are graduate and his son was presently preparing for medical entrance examination at Kota in Rajashthan.

“We will communicate CM’s announcement to the family and details after assessment would be sent to state government. Government would take a call if to hand over financial assistance to family for education at or to pay it later when required at time of admission in any course,” he said.

State government earlier had a policy of paying Rs 5 lakh ex-gratia to para-military personnel and Rs 11 lakh for military personnel. However, the amount was equalised to Rs 11 lakh for both types of personnel killed in war or war like situation by state government in June last year after kin of some para-military personnel had rejected accepting Rs 5 lakh ex-gratia on different occasions.

Along with the CM, deputy CM Sushil Kumar Modi, union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, former deputy CM Tejashwi Prasad Yadav, road transport minister Nand Kishore Yadav, health minister Mangal Pandey, union minister of state Ram Kripal Yadav, BJP state president Nityanand Rai and several others paid floral tribute to both martyrs at airport.

While Thakur’s mortal remain was carried to Bhagalpur from Patna airport in a special IAF chopper, Singh’s remains were taken to Masaurhi on a CRPF truck. Huge crowd with tricolours in hand and raising slogans for the both martyrs, poured at their last journey in Patna and Bhagalpur where they were cremated with full state honour.

DGP Gupteshwar Pandey along with Yadav also gave their shoulders for carrying remains of both martyrs at airport.