There are lessons to be learnt from the delayed return of Sunita Williams from space, says Dr S Somanath

The Army, in a late night post on Wednesday, has clarified that Agniveer Ajay Kumar’s family has been paid Rs 98.39 lakh, rebutting Rahul Gandhi’s claim that Rajnath Singh “lied” about compensation of Rs 1 crore being paid to the family in parliament. 

“Certain posts on Social Media have brought out that compensation hasn’t been paid to the Next of Kin of Agniveer Ajay Kumar who lost his life in the line of duty,” said the Army in a post on X, underlining that it salutes the supreme sacrifice made by the Agniveer. 

*CLARIFICATION ON EMOLUMENTS TO AGNIVEER AJAY KUMAR*

Certain posts on Social Media have brought out that compensation hasn’t been paid to the Next of Kin of Agniveer Ajay Kumar who lost his life in the line of duty.

It is emphasised that the Indian Army salutes the supreme… pic.twitter.com/yMl9QhIbGM

— ADG PI – INDIAN ARMY (@adgpi) July 3, 2024

“The last rites were carried out with full Military Honours. Of the total amount due, family of Agniveer Ajay has already been paid Rs 98.39 lakhs. 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,” the Army added. 

The clarification came within two hours of a video message by Rahul Gandhi, doubling down on his statement that compensation has not been paid to Agniveer Ajay Kumar’s family.  

“Protection of truth is the basis of every religion! But Defence Minister Rajnath Singh lied in Parliament about the assistance given to the family of martyred Agniveer. Agniveer Ajay Singh’s father himself has told the truth about their lies. The Defence Minister should apologise to the Parliament, the country, the Army and the family of Agniveer Ajay Singh ji,” said Mr Gandhi, the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha.

Launched in 2022, Agnipath scheme provides for short-term induction of personnel into the armed forces with an aim to bring down the age profile of the three services. Those recruited under the scheme are called Agniveers.

Over the years, the ministries of Defence and Home have reiterated that there is no official usage of the term ‘martyr’.

Hundreds of devotees are sitting in a huge ground, some of them fanning themselves with handheld fans, with motorcycles too parked nearby, shows a drone video from Uttar Pradesh’s Hathras, capturing the packed crowd before the stampede that killed 121.

The devotees had turned up for a satsang or prayer meet and to see Bhole Baba, former police constable-turned-preacher, on Tuesday in Hathras, some 200 km from national capital Delhi.   

A police report says more than 250,000 people attended the prayer meet despite permission being given for only 80,000.

Pitched blue tents and a sea of people swarmed the area, showed the drone video.

As the godman was leaving the venue, say reports, his followers started running towards him for a ‘darshan’ and collect soil from around his feet.

The situation worsened when more people waiting on the divider of the road ahead began running towards his vehicle. 

The godman’s personal security personnel started pushing and shoving to stop the crowd.

It had been raining heavily in the days leading up to the satsang, causing people to slip and fall in the wet muddy fields.