Mother of Agniveer who died on duty moves HC

{ SEEKS PARITY IN DEATH BENEFITS

- Karuna Nidhi

The mother of Agniveer M Murali Naik, who was killed in action during Operation Sindoor in May this year, moved Bombay high court on Wednesday seeking parity in death benefits given to regular fallen soldiers of the Indian army.

The petition said that under the present policy framework, an ‘Agniveer’ and his family are not entitled to any form of pension or lifelong family welfare benefits upon completion of service or in the event of death during service. Unlike regular soldiers who earn pension and gratuity upon qualifying for service, Agniveers receive only a onetime ‘Seva Nidhi’ corpus at the end of four years, together with a limited death compensation package if killed in line of duty.