Mumbai: After three decades, the Maharashtra government has started taking steps to compensate the next of kin of those killed or missing in the 1992 communal riots and the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts. On March 14, an appeal letter was issued urging the relatives of the victims to contact the district collector's office in the city and suburbs within a month.
In November 2022, the Supreme Court directed the Maharashtra government to trace the legal heirs of persons who died or went missing during the period between the communal riots in December 1992 and the bomb blasts in March 1993. An estimated 900 people were killed and 168 people went missing in the communal riots. Also on March 12, 1993, a series of 13 bomb blasts killed 257 people in different parts of the city.
As per the Supreme Court verdict, the state government released a compensation of Rs 2 lakh to the families of each of those killed or missing in riots and bomb blasts incidents in 1998. While the government has compensated the legal heirs of all the 900 dead and 60 missing persons, the compensation is yet to be disbursed to the legal heirs of the remaining missing persons. Criticizing the government for not adequately pursuing the legal heirs of missing persons, the Supreme Court made it mandatory for the compensation amount, with 9 percent interest since 1998, to be paid to the families of all the victims. In a recent letter, the government revealed a list of dead or missing persons, whose legal relatives cannot be found on government websites.
The legal heirs of the deceased/missing persons are requested to contact the Mumbai city and Mumbai suburban collector's office with necessary documents and identity proof for financial assistance from the government. It has also warned of legal action against individuals who provide false documents or misleading information.