Chandigarh, Feb 19 (UNI) Punjab government has approved special provisions in the rules to provide government jobs to one of the family members/kin of each of the four minors killed in the Maur Mandi bomb blast of January 31, 2017.

The decision was taken by the Cabinet at a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh here on Friday.

It was decided at the Cabinet meet to grant special provision to provide jobs, on compassionate grounds as per the educational qualifications of one member each of the families of the deceased - Japsimaran Singh (15) s/o Khushdeep Singh, Sourav Singla (14) s/o Rakesh Kumar, Ankush (11) s/o Gian Chand and Ripandeep Singh (9) s/o Kala Singh.

The existing rules did not provide for employment in state service on compassionate grounds for minor deceased. With the Cabinet decision today, the relevant rules/policy have been relaxed to provide jobs to a member each as per their educational qualification in Bathinda district or adjoining districts against direct quota vacant posts as a special case (without treating it as a precedent).

The jobs provided by the state government are in addition to the financial grant of Rs 5 lakh each to the families of each of the deceased persons. The injured have got Rs 50,000 each from the Chief Minister’s Relief fund.

Notably, seven people were killed and 13 injured in the bomb blast incident at Maur Mandi in Bathinda district. The state government had earlier provided government jobs to the next of kin of two deceased, namely Harpal Singh (40) s/o Teja Singh and Ashok Kumar (35) s/o Babu Ram, as per the existing policy, since both were the sole breadwinners of their families. In Ashok Kumar’s case, his minor daughter, Bago (11) was also killed, but since one member of the family has already been given a job, Bago has not been included in the special provision approved today.

UNI DB SY 1551