What the families of our martyrs are made to go through. First you lose a loved one in a terror attack; then you are asked to pay the price for it, literally. Claiming that Rs 10,000 had been spent for performing the last rites of special officer Kishore Pandey, Chhattisgarh Police demanded the amount back from the family of the deceased. Pandey perished in a Naxal attack in 2011.
Pandey's family was issued two notices - the first in June 2014, which was followed by another one on 12 April, 2015, reports DNA.
The money used for Pandey's funeral came out of the Police Welfare Fund.
Union Minister and retired army chief General VK Singh played down the incident as a "clerical mistake".
Meanwhile, terming the incident as "something unbelievable", Congress spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi said that the state government must take strongest, promptest action, reports Zee News.
The incident was also condemned by the INC and Chhatisgarh Pradesh Congress Committee, reports NDTV.
Following protests, police on Wednesday said they would not pressurise the family for the money anymore. According to state chief minister Raman Singh, the officer who had sent notices, demanding back the money from the family, has been suspended.
Absolutely shocking treatment being meted out to families ofthe brave Martyrs by the BJP govt @INCIndia @priyankac19 pic.twitter.com/Hn1EGj59Ll
— Chhattisgarh PCC (@chhattisgarhpcc) April 14, 2015
Hang your head in shame Raman Singh. And the BJP sarkar. Making money out of coffins is a tradition? https://t.co/1UWCClkfwa — Priyanka Chaturvedi (@priyankac19) April 15, 2015
