Government steps in for 2 dead cops’ kin

The government has sanctioned the Mumbai police commissioner’s recommendation of giving the salaries and other benefits of two police constables, who lost their lives in the line of duty, to their families till such time that they would have retired had they lived to continue in service.

The families of traffic police constable Vilas Shinde, who died on September 1, and Ajay Gawand, who was attached to Dongri police station and died in 2014, requested Mumbai police commissioner D.D. Padsalgikar that they be given compensation, after which, Mr Padsalgikar sent the request to the state government, which, on Friday, sanctioned the proposal.

A senior policeman said that the families of the two deceased constables would now get their salaries until such time that they would have retired had they lived and continued working. Further, the salaries would be revised if the pay commission increased the same and the families would also get housing allowance and other expenses that working police officers get. Plus, the families would get Rs 1.5 lakh in compensation or an amount 20 times more than their last salary, whichever is greater.

Swati Gawand, the widow of Gawand, said, “Since the past two years, I have been continuously following up on the compensation issue. My 10-year-old son and me lost our family pillar with my husband’s death. Every police family deserves such compensation. After I met the commissioner, he assured me that he would put forward my request to the government. Just a week later, I got the news that the compensation would be granted to our family.”