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Akali Delhi unit seeks Rs 6 million compensation for bereaved Sikh families

The Shiromani Akali Dal-Badal Delhi unit today demanded Rs 5 million each from the Centre and Rs 1 million each from the Jammu and Kashmir government as compensation to the Sikh families bereaved in the Monday night massacre at Anantnag.

''No amount of money can, however, compensate the loss of life. But it is the moral duty of both the Union and Jammu and Kashmir governments to award Rs 6 million per victim in compensation,'' party chief Avtar Singh Hit, whose parent body is a partner in the central coalition, said.

The Akali leader again took strong exception to what he called a serious ''security and intelligence failure'' that encouraged 'militants' to carry out their attack on Sikhs on Monday night.

Hit said his party activists will hold demonstrations on the Najafgarh road, Jail road and Bhogal in the capital today, blocking traffic to protest the massacre. ''We will also hold protests at the Pakistani high commission and Teen Murti from tomorrow,'' he added.

In a tribute to those dead, 'Akhand Path' (a 48-hour non-stop reading of the Guru Granth Sahib) will begin tomorrow at the historical Bangla Sahib gurdwara and its 'Bhog' will take place on Sunday at 1030 hrs, he said.

Hit said the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee, which had earlier helped the Orissa cyclone victims, must also pay Rs 500,000 per victim to the bereaved families of Chitti Singh village.

UNI

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