Amarinder Meets Delegation of Jodhpur Detenus

Chandigarh, Jun 23 (PTI) Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh today assured a delegation of Jodhpur detenus of all efforts by his government to persuade the Centre to withdraw its appeal against a court order granting compensation to them.

The chief minister gave a "sympathetic and patient hearing" to the detainees, who were arrested and detained in the Jodhpur prison following the 'Operation Bluestar' in 1984.

The chief minister told them that the state government was pursuing the matter with the Government of India, which had moved the Punjab and Haryana High Court against the compensation awarded to them by the District and Sessions Court of Amritsar in April last year.

He had already written to Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh in this regard, the chief minister told the delegation, according to an official release.

The chief minister said he had appealed to the central government to pay, without further delay, half the compensation amount of Rs. 4.5 crore that was awarded by the court.

In a letter to the Union Home Minister, the chief minister had on Wednesday said the central government's appeal against the compensation, which the court had held to be jointly payable by the central and state governments, had evoked a strong reaction amongst the Sikh community.

It was further likely to lead to an avoidable sense of alienation and perceived injustice among the community, the chief minister warned.

A total of 375 persons were arrested and detained in Jodhpur jail in the wake of the 'Operation Bluestar', and were later released in three batches, between March 1989 and July 1991.

Of these, 224 detainees had appealed for compensation in the lower court, alleging "wrongful detention and torture" but they failed to get any relief from the court in 2011.

However, 40 of the detainees went in appeal to the District & Sessions Court, Amritsar, and were awarded Rs four lakh each as compensation with six per cent interest (from the date of filing of the appeal to payment of compensation) in April last year.

The total compensation, including interest, worked out to Rs 4.5 crore approximately, the chief minister said.

The court had held the central and the state governments as jointly liable for payment of the compensation, and although the Punjab government had given an undertaking to the court to pay half the amount, the Union Government had moved an appeal in the Punjab and Haryana High Court against the order.

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