In yet another move to deprive the heirs of those that lost their lives in the twin blasts at the shrine of Abdullah Shah Ghazi in 2010, investigators have allegedly included fake names in the compensation list of the deceased and injured.
In October 2010, two blasts outside the Abdullah Shah Ghazi shrine left eight people dead and some 60 wounded.
After the tragic attack, the Sindh government announced compensation for the family of the deceased as well as the injured and the maimed. The family of every deceased was to receive Rs 500,000, whereas compensation of Rs 100,000 and Rs 200,000 was announced for the injured and the maimed, respectively.
However, sources said that the number of the people who lost their lives was raised to 13, including two bombers, by the officials of the then City District Government Karachi (CDGK) and they also claimed that 77, instead of 60, were injured. CDGK officials forwarded the list of victims and survivors’ names to the Sindh Home Department for disbursement of compensation.
However, sources said that the list was incomplete, as it lacked the complete data of the deceased and injured. The then city government had not mentioned the Computerised National Identity Card numbers.
In fact, added the sources, some of the house addresses in the list were later discovered to be false. After revelation of the fake entries, the summary was forwarded to the Sindh chief minister for review and the matter was reportedly handed over to the Chief Minister’s Inspection Team for further investigation, and, according to sources, the inspection team did not find the information in the list satisfactory.
The then CDGK had demanded Rs 13.2 million as compensation from the home department; however, the issue is being delayed due to the lethargic attitude of the authorities concerned and the grieving families are still waiting for any sort of compensation from the government.