New Delhi: In a bid to protect the Chhattisgarh government from the embarrassment after it asked a martyr's family to return the money given for his last rites, Union Minister VK Singh termed it a clerical error. Singh said, "The Congress will blame us for everything. It doesn't mean they're right. There must be some clerical error."
The family of Chhattisgarh Special Police Officer Kishore Pandey was asked to return Rs 10,000 given for his last rites from the Police Welfare Fund. Pandey was martyred in a Naxal attack in Chhattisgarh's Gariaband district on May 26, 2011.
In a damage control mode, Chief Minister Raman Singh has ordered that the Superintendent of Police who issued the notice must be dismissed.
Singh said, "Our martyrs must be respected. We have ordered that Superintendent of Police be issued a showcause notice. The officer who issued the notice will be dismissed."
Following uproar the Chhattisgarh Police withdrew the order of recovering the money from the family. Superintendent of Police Gariyabad Abhishek Pathak clarified, "We are taking back the order of recovering the money spent by the government for martyr's last rites."
The family had received the first notice to return the money in June 2014 and the second notice three days ago.
Pandey's brother Brajesh said the family was extremely hurt by government's notice to recover money. "It was not a question of money but of honour. After losing her son, my mother had to face humiliation."
The Congress called the incident an insult to the martyr. Congress leader Shailesh Trivedi said, "First they gave his family the money and now they want it back. This is an insult to the martyr and his family."
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