Uttarakhand Government Asked To Compensate Wife Of Doctor Killed On Duty

INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Wednesday directed the state government to pay Rs 1.90 crore to the family of a doctor shot dead while on duty in 2016.A division bench of
the High Court comprising Acting Chief Justice Rajiv Sharma and Justice Manoj Tiwari held that the doctor, Sunil Kumar, was discharging
official duties at the Community Health Centre, Jaspur, when he was shot dead on April 20, 2016.The chief minister has agreed to pay a
compensation of Rs 50 lakh but till date, only a sum of Rs one lakh has been paid to the petitioner, the court said.It was the duty of the
state government to protect the life of the doctor, the court said, adding that he was on duty and killing a doctor on duty amounts to
negation of the rule of law."Keeping this and various other factors in mind, the court directs the state government to pay a compensation of
Rs 1.90 crore along with interest at the rate of 7.5 per cent per annum to the wife of the deceased," the bench said.The state is also
directed to award "extraordinary pension" to the petitioner as per the provisions of the Uttar Pradesh Civil Services (Extraordinary
Pension) (First Amendment) Rules, 1981, as adopted by the State of Uttarakhand, within 10 weeks from today along with the arrears at the
rate of 8.5 per cent per annum, it said.The doctor was posted at CHC, Jaspur, as a paediatrician when he was shot dead.An FIR was lodged at
the chief minister on May 26, 2016 for grant of compensation of Rs 50 lakh and appointment of Mr Kumar's elder son as a lecturer in any
polytechnic in Dehradun on permanent basis on compassionate grounds and a government accommodation for the doctor's widow for a period of 5
years in Dehradun.The chief minister endorsed the proposal
However, the family has only been paid Rs one lakh as compensation
Mr Kumar's elder son was given compassionate appointment as a lecturer in Computer Science Department of State Polytechnic, Dehradun, on a
contractual basis.