Sonbhadra firing: Kin of victims get Rs 5 lakh each as compensation

A compensation of Rs 5 lakh each was issued on Saturday to the kin of victims of the Sonbhadra firing incident.

Sonbhadra District Magistrate (DM) Ankit Agarwal, who disbursed the relief funds, said, "According to the instructions of Chief Minister, Rs 5 lakh was made available to the families of the ten deceased in the Sonbhadra firing case. Eight of the affected parties were present today while two were not available."

"Disputed land matters will be looked into by a committee formed by the government in this matter. All the documents related to this land have been sent to the committee. The committee will send its report in a week and further action will be taken on the basis of the reports. The farmers will be given due support from the government," he added.

Ten people were killed and several sustained injuries on July 17 in an incident of firing over a land dispute at a village in Sonbhadra district of Uttar Pradesh.

The incident took place in Ubbha village of Ghorawal when the pradhan went to take possession of his land purchased two years ago. However, he was met with opposition by the villagers, which triggered firing by his aides leading to the death of nine people, including four women.

"The incident took place in a remote area in Ghorawal police station limits. Pradhan of Ubha village purchased 90 bigha land two years back. Today, he went with some of his aides to take the possession. Local villagers opposed. As a result, they opened fire causing the death of nine villagers including four women," Inspector General (Law and Order) Praveen Kumar had said.

The injured were admitted to the district's government hospital.