Chandigarh, April 18: More than two years after Akali leader Mukhjit Singh Mukha was allegedly killed by a Punjab Police team, the Punjab and Haryana High Court on Tuesday ordered a compensation of Rs 20 lakh for the victim’s wife, Harjit Kaur.
The state has already paid Rs 5 lakh to the family. For paying the remaining amount, Justice Rakesh Kumar Jain set a three-month deadline.
Seeking a Rs 50-lakh compensation and a government job, Harjit Kaur had moved the High Court through counsel Mohinder Kumar, claiming that her husband was killed by a police party of Amritsar district on June 16, 2015, which “waylaid him and indiscriminately fired gunshots at him in his car”.
The High Court was told he sustained 23 bullet injuries. Reports in the media had quoted the Commissioner of Police as saying that the police team had killed Mukha after mistaking him for a gangster.
The counsel told the court that the then Deputy Chief Minister, Sukhbir Singh Badal, visited the victim’s family and announced compensation and a government job for the widow. Subsequently, Harjit Kaur was given a cheque for Rs 5 lakh, “which was inadequate”. Also, the government did not provide a job to her.
The Punjab Government, during the course of hearing, told the Bench that the services of seven “erring cops” had been placed under suspension following the shootout.
Source: http://www.tribuneindia.com
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