Tikait seeks more compensation for Dalit family

Agra, Oct 26 (IANS) Bhartiya Kisan Union spokesperson Rakesh Tikait has now demanded an additional compensation of Rs 40 lakh for the kin of Dalit sanitation worker Arun Valmiki, who allegedly died in police custody recently.

The Yogi Adityanath government has given a compensation of Rs 10 lakh to the bereaved family.

Tikait, who met the family on Monday evening, said, "There is no difference between a sanitation worker and a farmer. The government has paid Rs 45 lakh to the victims in Lakhimpur.

"Though life is invaluable, you cannot differentiate between people when giving compensation. Valmiki's family should get similar compensation as was paid to the families of farmers killed in the Lakhimpur Kheri violence."

Tikait said that if the government has announced to provide a compensation amount of Rs 45 lakh to the Lakhimpur farmers, then the same amount should also be given to the sanitation worker's kin. "If the right to vote is the same for all, then the compensation amount should also be the same," he said.

He also demanded a judicial inquiry into Valmiki's death.

"The government must provide a permanent job in the municipal corporation to Arun Valmiki's wife. The compensation amount of Rs 10 lakh is insufficient as there are three minor children in the family, and their entire life lies ahead of them. We will stage a protest, if the family is not taken care of properly," he added.

Meanwhile, four CCTV cameras have been installed in and around Valmiki's house by Azad Samaj party workers to monitor the movement of persons around their house.

This was done after the family expressed fear of harassment by the police to the party's president Chandra Shekhar Azad, who had met them recently.