Martyr Ravi Pal’s sons at Sarwah village in Samba. Tribune Photo: Inderjeet Singh

Dinesh Manhotra

Tribune News Service

Jammu, June 12

Deputy Chief Minister Nirmal Singh today took serious note of the report that ex gratia was being denied to the family of Uri martyr Havildar Ravi Pal. He promised that he would personally look into the matter so that the case was disposed of at the earliest.As BJP ministers are facing criticism from the party for not sanctioning ex gratia to the families of the two Uri martyrs of the state, Nirmal Singh told The Tribune he would personally follow the case so that the martyrs’ families do not face any harassment in getting justice.Meanwhile, the BJP today issued a hard-hitting statement against its own government after The Tribune exposed the government’s apathetic attitude towards Havildar Ravi Pal’s family.The Tribune had on June 10 reported about the unending plight of Geeta Devi, wife of Havildar Ravi Pal, who has not been provided relief and has been subjected to the apathetic attitude of politicians and bureaucrats.“It is a sad commentary that Havildar Ravi Pal’s wife Geeta has been subjected to the apathetic attitude of bureaucrats and politicians,” said Prof Varinder Gupta, state BJP spokesman.Gupta said about eight months had passed since the 2016 Uri attack, but none of the bereaved families had received a penny from the government so far. He said though the BJP had on its own provided an ex gratia of Rs 5 lakh each to the two families of the martyrs, the state government had not taken any decision on the compensation so far.The spokesperson questioned the policy of the state government which provides relief to the families of the terrorists and its apathy towards the families of the martyrs.“Is it because that they belong to the Jammu region and are serving in the defence services and were countering the attacks of terrorists for whom some politicians of the Valley have a sympathetic attitude?” he asked. BJP ministers in the coalition expressed their helplessness over the issue.“We have already taken up the issue before the higher-ups a number of times but nothing concrete has been done by the government,” said a BJP minister on condition of anonymity. He admitted that his senior colleagues in the government had failed to pursue the ex gratia cases.While BJP ministers have maintained a criminal silence on the plight of the martyrs’ families, state BJP president Sat Sharma told The Tribune that the bureaucrats creating hurdles in releasing the ex gratia to the families would be taken to task.