To retrieve lost ground and regain the faith of mainly Muslims, the Akhilesh government in Uttar Pradesh has now decided to give “special pension” to people who have suffered losses in the Muzaffarnagar riots.
Informed sources said that a list of those affected by the riots was being prepared by the district administration and the final decision would be announced after receiving the complete list.
A total of 48 people were killed and more than 43,000 displaced in the communal clashes that erupted on September 7 and lasted for almost a week.
The state government has already announced government jobs for the kin of those who lost their lives in the riots and the jobs would be given on basis of the educational qualifications.
According to a senior officials, the pension, which would be anywhere between `400 and `500 per month, would be given under the ongoing Rani Laxmi Bai Pension Scheme and the families of those who had died or were seriously injured would be the main beneficiaries.
The divisional commissioner of Saharanpur has been assigned the task of working out the modalities of the eligibility and the scheme.
The Uttar Pradesh government has also asked officials to expedite work on the disbursement of financial compensation to the riot victims.
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Panel to probe sting on Azam
age correspondent
Lucknow, Sept. 19
A special committee set up by the Speaker of the UP Assembly will probe the sting operation conducted by a news channel that showed cops saying that they had instructions from the “top” not to touch the perpetrators of violence during the Muzaffarnagar riots.
The Speaker announced on Thursday that the committee will submit its report at the earliest. It may be recalled that the sting operation shown on TV casts a shadow on the role of senior UP minister Azam Khan and the Opposition has been demanding the minister’s resignation. The minister has already denied having any role in the management of riots and blamed the media for distorting facts on the issue.
Meanwhile, chief minister Akhilesh Yadav defended Mr Khan in the Assembly on Thursday and said he had no role in the riots which were engineered by BJP members.