Deccan Chronicle: Kerala: Sunday, September 10, 2017.
A reply under
RTI has revealed that the state government has granted Rs 2.04 crore under the
Victim's compensation Scheme in the last two years. Of this, Rs 1.07 crore was
given away to the victims in the cases registered under the Protection Of
Children From Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. The Scheme was launched in 2014 to
extend support to victims. During 2016-17, Rs 1.03 crore was earmarked for
victims under the POCSO Act. The state considered 41 cases and handed over an
interim compensation of Rs 5.9 lakh. During 2015-16, Rs 8.5 lakh was given to
three victims in the POCSO case. Rs 40 lakh was given to 23 beneficiries of 9
murder cases and Rs 24 lakh to victims in hit and run cases.
The
government formulated the Scheme on February 24, 2014. The objective of the
scheme was to provide funds for the purpose of compensation to the victim or
his/her dependents who have suffered loss or injury as a result of the crime
and who requires rehabilitation. Kerala
State Legal Services Authority (KELSA) gave the RTI reply to Dhanraj S of
Kochi, an RTI activist. KELSA in March 2016 had replied that that it was
planning to disburse `21.5 lakh to the various District Legal Service
Societies.
The
government had entrusted KELSA with the disbursement of compensation. Under the
scheme, the compensation for death due to crime is Rs 5 lakh, that for culpable
homicide not amounting to murder is Rs 3 lakh, and for causing death by
negligence Rs 2 lakh. Rape victims would be entitled to get a compensation of
up to Rs 3 lakh, while sexual assault victims and minors subjected to physical
abuse will get a maximum of Rs 50,000.
.JPG)
.JPG)
