1984 anti-Sikh riots: Allahabad HC seeks UP govt's reply on plea over compensation for victims

Allahabad: The Allahabad High Court on Thursday sought a reply from the Uttar Pradesh government on a plea alleging that victims of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots in the state have not been adequately compensated. A division bench of Justices Arun Tandon and Krishna Singh asked the Principal Secretary (Home) to file his personal affidavit on the petition by a Kanpur-based organisation, Guru Singh Sabha. [caption id=“attachment_2995010” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Allahabad High Court. allahabad.nic.in[/caption] The court fixed 31 August as the next date of hearing. The petitioners have drawn the court’s attention to the fact that 14 Sikhs, all of them from the same family, had been massacred in Kidwai Nagar locality of Kanpur. Also, members of the community suffered huge loss of property across the state in the communal conflagration that had erupted across the country in the aftermath of the assassination of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. The petitioners have further alleged that notwithstanding a compensation package of Rs 716 crore announced by the Centre for rehabilitating the riot victims, the solatium paid to those affected by the violence in the state was meagre.