Mathura clash: UP Govt raises compensation

Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh government today raised compensation amount to the next of kin of two slain police officers in Mathura clash from Rs 20 lakh to Rs 50 lakh. Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav also announced extraordinary pension to the families of two martyred policemen and job to one member from each family, an official release said. The Chief Minister, who is in the eye of a storm over the violence that claimed 24 lives, said in Mahoba in Bundelkhand, "the government is with the bereaved families of two slain police officers -- SP (City) Mukul Dwivedi and Station House Officer Santosh Kumar in this time of sorrow." He said the state government would extend all help in rehabilitation of their dependents. "It is a terrible loss. It is a matter of great sorrow. Their family members are facing troubled times," Yadav said. Earlier in the day, BSP supremo Mayawati charged the chief minister with not taking the Mathura violence seriously. "Rather than touring Bundelkhand, he should have been visiting Mathura today," she said, and demanded a judicial or Supreme Court-monitored or CBI probe into the incident. BJP President Amit Shah demanded resignation of Cabinet Minister Shivpal Yadav, who is also uncle of the chief minister and is highly influential in the Samajwadi Party. Addressing a public function in Kanpur today, Shah indirectly held Shivpal responsible for the Mathura incident.