Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Tuesday announced an ex gratia payment of ₹25 lakh to the family of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) officer V.V. Vasanthakumar who was killed in a suicide bomb attack that claimed the lives of 40 combatants at Pulwama on February 14.
Mr Vijayan told journalists here that the government would build a house for the family in Wayanad, the home district of the slain soldier, and sponsor the education of his children. The State would also provide permanent employment to Vasanthakumar’s wife in Kerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences University where she was employed temporarily. The CM said of the ₹25 lakh, ₹15 lakh would go to Vasanthakumar’s wife, and the rest to his mother.