Kin of men slain in Pulwama attack given financial aid: CRPF

While paying tributes to the Pulwama martyrs on Friday — 40 CRPF personnel were killed when a Jaish-e-Mohammad suicide bomber Adil Ahmad Dar rammed his car into a convoy in the valley — Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that the nation will never forget their martyrdom.

The Central Reserve Police Force said on Friday that all the families of martyrs of February 14, 2019, Pulwama attack except one have been paid all financial dues and benefits, with amounts ranging from Rs 2-3 crore for each family. In addition, all the families are getting last pay drawn as monthly pension, it said.

One next-of-kin of a Pulwama martyr — Head Constable, Vijay Soreng, a resident of Jharkhand — has not received the financial benefits yet because the case pertaining to establishing Soreng’s legal heir is currently sub-judice, said a statement by the Central Armed Police Force (CAPF).

While paying tributes to the Pulwama martyrs on Friday — 40 CRPF personnel were killed when a Jaish-e-Mohammad suicide bomber Adil Ahmad Dar rammed his car into a convoy in the valley — Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that the nation will never forget their martyrdom.

He tweeted: “Tributes to the brave martyrs who lost their lives in the gruesome Pulwama attack last year. They were exceptional individuals who devoted their lives to serving and protecting our nation. India will never forget their martyrdom.”

“Over and above, all the Next-of-Kins (NoKs) of martyrs have also been paid the entire donations as token of gratitude to our martyrs,” the CRPF said on Friday.

The payments are part of government assistance and donations collected through Bharat Ke Veer initiative, a Union government scheme to crowd fund money to pay families of martyrs of all central paramilitary forces.

In addition, NoKs of 19 Pulwama martyrs have been allotted residential flats by the Confederation of Real Estate Developers Association of India, while 21 other cases are being processed.

Similarly, Reliance Foundation has transferred educational assistance to the accounts of NoKs of 27 martyrs based on their need. Five cases educational assistance out of the requests received are also under active consideration, said the CRPF statement.

The family members of 17 martyrs have also been offered jobs by different state governments.

“We, in CRPF, continue to stand shoulder to shoulder with near and dear ones of our martyrs. We reiterate that the NoKs of our martyrs continue to be part of CRPF family,” CRPF said in a statement.

The Director General of CRPF, Dr A P Maheshwari, said, “We pay our heartfelt tribute to all the martyrs. CRPF is a brave fighting force on federal grid and remains undeterred by any untoward incident.

“We do care for our people. Families of martyrs are well looked after. We reiterate our commitment to serve the nation and all the residents with renewed zeal and preparedness towards their security and ease of living,” Maheshwari added.