Moga: Ending a four-day protest that had embarrassed the ruling Badal family, the father of the girl molested and pushed to death from a moving bus on accepted the Punjab government's offer of compensation and a job and also agreed for the post-mortem and cremation of the body.
The body of the teenaged girl was consigned to flames at her village Lande Ke at 8.35 pm amid tight security arrangements after the last rites were performed by the father, who insisted there was no compromise with the state government to end the deadlock.
Facing flak over the Moga bus incident on Wednesday, Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal met the father and other members of the victim's family here this evening and remained with them for 30 minutes. Badal described the incident as "intolerable" and "painful" while the police said all the four accused had been arrested.
"I want to request that I want to perform the last rites of my daughter," the victim's father said. He also said that he had agreed for the post-mortem "without any pressure". The father had so far been refusing to perform the cremation till a case was filed against Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal and others who own the Orbit bus service and cancellation of licence to it. He had been staging a sit-in along with some local politicians to press his demands.
"Whatever the state government has offered to us is acceptable to me. They (state government) have fulfilled our demands and have assured us that my daughter's killer will be punished," the victim's father said. About compensation, he said he did not know about the quantum. "I cannot say about compensation. Whatever has been given to me is sufficient for me. I am happy that I will move away from here with my daughter," he said.
The government had earlier offered a compensation of Rs 20 lakh, a government job for her injured mother, her free treatment and holding trial of the case in a fast track court but the family had rejected it. Moga Deputy Commissioner Parminder Singh Gill said that Rs 24 lakh compensation to the affected family would be paid by Orbit Aviation, owners of the bus, instead of district administration. The money will be deposited with Red Cross Moga from where the money will delivered to affected family.
The girl's father also sought an end to the protest launched over the incident. "This protest should now come to an end...my daughter has already died. If my wife (who is in hospital) dies, then what will be the use of my life? Now I want to lead a normal life."
Thanking those who supported him, he insisted, "Nobody including government or any officer has ever threatened me (for compromise)."
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