Phagwara clash: Cheque of Rs 5 lakh handed to deceased youth's mother

A cheque of Rs 5 lakh was today handed over to the mother of a youth who died of injuries sustained in a recent clash in Phagwara between members of Dalit outfits and Hindu right-wing groups on the issue of renaming an NH1 traffic intersection.

Kapurthala Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Tayyab handed the cheque to Rajni, mother of Yashwant (19), alias Bobby, who died yesterday night at a hospital in Ludhiana.

The DC said the amount was given as compensation to the bereaved family.

The Punjab government will also provide employment to one eligible member of Bobby's family, he added.

Bobby, a Dalit activist, was critically injured in the April 13 clash that erupted after Dalit members allegedly put up a board with a picture of B R Ambedkar at Gol Chowk and tried to rename the intersection as Samvidhan Chowk.

The victim's body reached Phagwara this morning after postmortem.

Though tension had gripped the town, the cremation ceremony passed off peacefully, officials said.