An Insaaf Committee formed to seek justice and compensation for victims of Jattvibeday’s fatal accident on the Lehragaga-Jakhal road has rejected the state government’s offer of Rs 2 lakh ex gratia for each deceased worker and free treatment for the injured.The committee has demanded Rs 50 lakh for each deceased victim, Rs 20 lakh for every injured person, a government job for a family member and free education for the children of those killed.The 10-member committee, comprising MGNREGA Workers Union members and social activists from Lehragaga, has warned that postmortems and cremations will not be allowed until its demands are met.Meanwhile, residents of Alisher village staged a dharna against the Health Department, alleging inadequate medical facilities and a delay of nearly an hour in the arrival of an ambulance. They claimed the delay in treatment contributed to the deaths.Eight workers were killed and 13 injured when a speeding car ran over them near Alisher village in Sangrur on Jattvibeday. The workers, many of them women, were engaged under the Viksit Bharat Guarantee Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission Gramin scheme.Cabinet ministers Barinder Goyal and Harpal Singh Cheema visited the injured at hospitals in Sangrur. Goyal said the government would bear the treatment expenses of the injured and remained open to discussions on compensation. He also announced a departmental inquiry into the alleged dereliction of duty and failure to follow safety protocols.


