The family of Agnipath recruit Ajay Kumar, who died in a landmine blast in January, has claimed that they received an amount of Rs 48 lakh so far from the Indian Army, NDTV reported on Thursday.
Another Rs 50 lakh was received from the ICICI Bank as insurance money, the family said.
A day earlier, the Army had said that the family had been paid Rs 98.39 lakh out of the total amount due. The Army issued the statement in response to Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi’s claim on Wednesday that Kumar’s family had not received compensation from the Army after his death.
On Monday, Defence Minister sought to refute Gandhi’s statement and said: “Financial assistance of Rs 1 crore is given to the family of the Agniveer who sacrifices his life while protecting our borders or during war.”
Kumar’s father, however, told NDTV that the family has not received the full amount yet. “The Army has told us that they will give us 60 lakh rupees more,” he said. “We haven't received that money yet though. Don't know when we will get it.”
Several social media users questioned whether insurance money should be counted as part of compensation provided by the government.
Kumar’s sister also demanded that the Agnipath scheme for short-term recruitment to the armed forces be re-evaluated. “My brother lost his life for a job of four years,” she asked. “While the government promises Rs 1 crore, can a family survive solely on that amount without him?"
Kumar was killed on January 18 in a landmine blast near the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir’s Rajouri district.
On Monday in the Lok Sabha, Gandhi referred to the Agnipath recruit’s death in a speech and claimed that although he was killed in a landmine blast, he was not called a “martyr”, The Hindu reported.
“I call him a martyr but the Government of India does not call him a martyr,” the Congress leader said. “PM [Narendra] Modi does not call him a martyr – he calls him an Agniveer.”
Gandhi said that Kumar’s family would not get a pension. “They won’t get compensation,” he claimed. “Agniveer is use-and-throw, like a labourer.”
Rajnath Singh, however, accused the Congress leader of trying to mislead the House by making false statements.
The Army, too, sought to refute the claim that Kumar’s family had not been paid compensation for his death in the line of duty.
While stating that the family has already been paid Rs 98.39 lakh, the Army added on Wednesday: “Ex - Gratia and other benefits amounting to approximately 67 lakhs, as applicable according to the provisions of the Agniveer Scheme, will be paid on Final Account Settlement shortly post due Police verification. The total amount will be Rs 1.65 Cr approximately.”
Earlier on Wednesday, Gandhi had claimed that the defence minister had lied in Parliament about the assistance given to the Agniveer. “The defence minister should apologise to the Parliament, the country, the Army and the family of martyr Agniveer Ajay Singhji,” he said in a video statement on social media.
The video also had a clip of of Kumar’s father claiming that his family had not received any compensation till then.
The Agnipath scheme, introduced in 2022, recruits citizens between the age of 17-and-a-half and 21 years for the armed forces for only four years, with a provision to retain 25% of them for 15 more years. Those recruited under this scheme are called Agniveers. The introduction of the scheme had triggered protests across several states as aspirants demanded permanent recruitment with pension benefits.
Agniveers are not entitled to pension and emoluments on the completion of the four years of service and are instead offered a lump-sum package.
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