Sikh group criticises compensation to kin of 1984 riot victims

NEW YORK: A Sikh rights group has criticised India's decision to give Rs five lakh each to the next of kin of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots victims, saying compensation cannot be a substitute to the prosecution of the perpetrators.

Government has decided to give Rs five lakh each to the next of kin of 3,325 victims of the anti-Sikh riots triggered after assassination of the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.

The Sikhs for Justice ( SFJ) group said the grant of the compensation cannot be a substitute to the "prosecution of 1984 genocide perpetrators".

The group said Sikhs from North America and 1984 victims and survivors would converge on the UN headquarters on November 7, on the 30th anniversary of the anti-Sikh riots.

SFJ said it will also submit a report to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon detailing the human rights abuses and killings during the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.