Punjab Chief Minister Capt. Amarinder Singh on Wednesday said that he had spoken to V.K Singh, Minister of State in the Ministry of External Affairs, on the issue of bringing back the mortal remains of the Indian hostages killed by the Islamic State in Iraq.
The Chief Minister told reporters here that Mr. Singh had informed him that the remains would take about a week to reach India.
Since the majority of those killed were from Punjab’s Majha and Doaba regions, the remains were likely to arrive in Amritsar, Capt. Amainder Singh said
“The State government was making arrangements to hand over the remains to the families for the last rites,” he added.
Capt. Amarinder Singh said his government would try to find jobs for the kin of the deceased and would continue to pay the monthly compensation of ₹20,000, which the families were already being given.
The Chief Minister said he had written to External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Tuesday regarding grant of compensation to the bereaved families and was hopeful of a positive response from the Centre.
