Ex-serviceman who ended life in Delhi gets OROP arrears

Arrears due to a retired soldier, who committed suicide in the national capital earlier this month, have been credited to his bank account, the Rajya Sabha was told on Tuesday.

In a written reply, Minister of State for Defence Subhash Bhamre said Subedar Ram Kishan Grewal (Retd), who had committed suicide in Delhi on November 1, was drawing a pension of Rs 22,608 per month.

"He was entitled for a revised pension under the One-Rank-One-Pension (OROP) scheme of Rs 25,634 per month.

"The total arrear amount of Rs 53,978 on account of implementation of the OROP has been credited to the bank account of former Subedar late Ram Kishan Grewal on 08.11.2016," Bhamre informed the House.

The 70-year-old retired Subedar allegedly consumed poison at a Delhi park over the issue of OROP.

He had come to Delhi with three other ex-servicemen to protest against issues around pension for retired soldiers, and was planning to meet Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar.

The Defence Ministry, however, said he did not have any appointment with the Minister.

In his suicide note, written with pencil on the corner of a memorandum that Grewal had prepared to submit to the Defence Ministry, he said he was making a sacrifice for the soldiers.

"Main mere desh ke liye, meri matrubhumi ke liye evam mere desh ke veer jawano ke liye apne prano ko nyochhavar kar raha hun (I am sacrificing my life for my country, my motherland and the brave soldiers of my country)," the note read.

Grewal was entitled to the OROP benefits, but his pension was delayed due to some problem in calculation by his bank, Ministry sources had then said.

Grewal served in the Territorial Army for six years and 11 months, after which he was serving in the Defence Security Corps.

The delay in receiving the revised pension was allegedly due to problems in calculation by the SBI's Bhiwani branch in Haryana.

In the reply, Bhamre also said that Grewal was not part of the United Front of Ex-Servicemen Movement (UFESM), which is continuing with the protest against the government's OROP scheme.

"No incident of suicide by any member of this organisation has come to notice so far," Bhamre added.

--IANS

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