Nirmla Devi

Vishal Joshi

Tribune News Service

Kurukshetra, May 28

Nirmla Devi, mother of martyred Army sepoy Mandeep Singh, wants to meet Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh tomorrow over the alleged indifferent attitude of the state government towards the family.Nirmla said that Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar had failed to keep his promise to grant job as compensation to a family member of the martyred. “We had furnished the required paperwork in January. Mandeep’s widow Prerna had also given her consent in writing to grant government job to my unmarried younger son Sandeep Kumar. It has been seven months today since my young son died guarding the country, but we have not heard anything from the government on its official announcement,” she said.Union Minister Rajnath Singh will be in Kurukshetra University tomorrow for a convocation function. Nirmla has no prior permission to meet the minister.A resident of Anteri village in the district, Nirmla said she felt hurt over the callous attitude of the authorities.Mandeep died during an anti-terror operation near the LoC in Kupwara district in Kashmir on October 28. His mutilated body was found along the LoC. While paying condolences at the martyr’s village, Khattar had announced Rs 50 lakh and a job to the next of kin.“We had to push our case of compensation for months. Now, the state authorities want us to beg for job, too. Entire developments are very painful,” said the mother.Martyr’s brother Sandeep was preparing to go to Canada on a work visa when Mandeep was killed on duty and he had decided to drop the plan to look after the family in the village. The family also demanded out-of-turn promotion for Prerna, a constable in the state police.