CLAIM

TRUTH

VERDICT

A post made by the verified Facebook page of the Aam Aadmi Party said that families of 75% of the CRPF jawans martyred in the deadly Pulwama terror attack of February 14 will not be eligible for pension.The graphic card AAP posted had a photo of some policemen carrying a coffin and some text. The text, written in Hindi, closely translates to, "Do you know that families of more than 75% of the CRPF jawans martyred in the Pulwama terror attack will not be eligible for pension because they joined the force after 2004?"The card also carries a post script requesting people not to see the post as one made to politicise the issue.Similar messages are being circulated widely on WhatsApp and social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter.The claim that families of CRPF jawans martyred will not get pension is absolutely false. The only fact in the post made by the Aam Aadmi Party is that pension rules for central government employees changed from January 1, 2004.We found a TOI report about it titled, "Government to scrap pension scheme for new staff", which said , "The Central government will discontinue the existing pension scheme for all employees that are recruited from / after January 1, 2004," and that according to the new scheme, employees will have to deposit a certain amount every month till retirement and that the government will also contribute an equal amount every month to every employee, with a condition that the government's contribution will be capped at 10% of the employee's annual salary.As per a scanned document uploaded on the official website of the CRPF, it is clearly written that the widows of CRPF personnel "killed in action" will be eligible for "100% of last pay drawn" and if unmarried, "75% of last pay drawn to parents if both parents are alive and 60% of last pay for a single parent" under Liberalized Pensionary Award (LPA).We also found a copy of the answers given by the Ministry of Home Affairs in Lok Sabha in 2018 to MP Rajeev Satav and MP Dr Heena Gavit. In it, the details of compensation paid to next-of-kin of victims of violence (Left-Wing Extremism, in this case) is clearly stated.Here are the details of compensation families of CAPF personnel (Assam Rifles (AR), Border Security Force (BSF), Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), National Security Guard (NSG), Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB)) who lost their lives being victims of violence:"The Central Government pays Rs 35 lacs as ex-gratia and an additional Rs 20 lacs ex-gratia is paid through the Security Related Expenditure (SRE) Scheme to the Next-of-kin (NoK) of martyrs of CAPF. Insurance cover to CAPF personnel is also provided under the SRE Scheme. In addition, the State in which the individual was serving, his Home State and the force to which he belongs pay ex-gratia/insurance benefits/ benefits from risk fund and welfare funds at varying rates. Apart from above, the next-of-kin is also given full salary till the age of superannuation under Liberalized Pensionary Award (LPA) & is also eligible for compassionate appointment as per applicable rules. In addition, compensation for incapacitation with a maximum ceiling of Rs 5 lac is also reimbursed to the States under the SRE Scheme (sic)."In a written reply given by Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju to a question by MP Neelam Sonker in Lok Sabha on December 22, 2015 talking about 'Martyr status', it is mentioned that families / next-of-kin of CAPF personnel killed in action or on any operation are given "full family pension under the Liberalized Pensionary Award (LPA) rules and lump sum ex-gratia compensation of rupees fifteen lakh as per rules in addition to other benefits admissible."It is clear that in cases of death of CRPF personnel as a result of attack by or during action against extremists, which is the case in Pulwama terror attack, the compensation provided is under LPA.The claim that the families of CRPF jawans martyred in the Pulwama terror attack will not be eligible for pension is absolutely false.