Jat stir: Arson victims rue slash in relief

Tribune News Service

Rohtak, April 10

The owners of commercial and other establishments damaged in arson during the recent Jat agitation lament the drastic cut in compensation.

As most of the affected persons did not have insurance cover for their property, they pinned all hopes on the state authorities. The Haryana Government also announced that the arson victims would be fully compensated for their losses.

However, inquiries made by The Tribune revealed that many arson victims were dissatisfied with the compensation paid to them. Some of them have requested for re-assessment of their losses.

In several cases, the victims had to accept the reduced amount due to pressing circumstances for which they were made to sign undertakings that they were satisfied with what they had got.

Virender Kumar, whose firecracker-manufacturing unit was burnt down during the agitation, says he suffered a loss of nearly Rs52 lakh but the authorities “concerned” approved a relief of about Rs4.3 lakh only. He said he had refused to accept the amount and applied for reassessment of the damage.

“The building and infrastructure of my school was burnt during the agitation. I claimed Rs85 lakh, but got only Rs22 lakh. I accepted the amount as I had to rebuild the school. I was made to give an undertaking that I was satisfied with the amount I had received,” says VK Juneja, owner of Silver Bells School located on Gohana Road in Rohtak.

Juneja maintains that he had given a representation to the district administration, seeking re-assessment of the damage as the compensation paid was much lower than the actual losses suffered/claimed by him.

Similarly, Surinder Kumar Dhamija, whose chemist shop located at Medical Turn in Rohtak town was gutted during arson, says that he had claimed a compensation of Rs40 lakh but his claim was cut to nearly half.

Several victims of arson complained that certain government officials, who surveyed their damaged/burnt premises, did not show any sympathetic consideration over the huge losses suffered by them and slashed the claim amount.

On the other hand, the authorities maintain that whatever claims had been approved by the survey teams had been given to the victims and if any of them had any grievances, they could approach officials concerned.

Rohtak lawyer’s role under IB scanner 

Rohtak: The role of local lawyer Manoj Duhan in the arson witnessed during the Jat agitation is being examined by the Central and state intelligence agencies. Manoj Duhan was arrested in the wake of the stir. Based on certain inputs, he was grilled by the Central as well as state Intelligence agencies, including the Intelligence Bureau (IB) and CID, to ascertain his alleged Maoist links. DSP Siddharth Dhanda, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) in charge probing the incidents of arson and violence at the local residence of Finance Minister Capt Abhimanyu, confirmed to The Tribune that Duhan's role was being studied by the Intelligence Bureau. Meanwhile, a complaint against the lawyer was sent to the Union Home Minister. The complainant alleged Duhan was trying to revive the British-era Unionist Mission propagated by Sir Chhotu Ram.

Another lawyer in dock

A record of some controversial telephonic conversation involving another local lawyer, Sudeep Kalkal, who was also arrested in the wake of the quota stir, also surfaced. SIT chief Dhanda maintained that Kalkal's telephonic conversation of February 17 indicated that the arson and violence were pre-planned. Kalkal headed the youth wing of the Akhil Bharatiya Jat Aarakshan Sangharsh Samiti and associated with the quota stir.  tns