Withdraw plea against Bluestar detainees: CM

Chandigarh, June 20

Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh has urged the Centre to withdraw its appeal in the Punjab and Haryana High Court against the award of compensation to those arrested and detained in the Jodhpur prison following the Operation Bluestar.

Capt Amarinder has appealed to the Centre to pay, without further delay, half the compensation amount of Rs 4.5 crore that was awarded by the District and Sessions Court of Amritsar in April last year.

In a letter to Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, the CMon Wednesday said the Centre’s appeal against the compensation, which the court had held to be jointly payable by the Union and state governments, had evoked a strong reaction among the Sikh community. — TNS