Compensation not a substitute for punishment to culprits: Omar

Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Sunday said compensation revised by the state government to victims of violence, including rape and acid attacks, were not a substitute for punishment to perpetrators.

".. It`s no one`s case that this is a substitute for the culprit being punished. The law will follow its own course as was the case earlier," Omar wrote on micro-blogging site Twitter. He was responding to criticism of the state government`s recent revision of compensation rates for victims of violence including cases of death, disability, rape and human trafficking. "It never ceases to amaze me how a perfectly good initiative taken by a Government can be twisted and misrepresented to suit an editorial line," he said, referring to editorials criticising the move. Omar said the state government had only made a provision that victims of violence, including rape and acid attacks, get compensation. "Anyone who believes that violence doesn`t exist is living in fool`s paradise. So what`s wrong with ensuring compensation to the victims?" he asked. The state cabinet, during a meeting chaired by the Chief Minister on Friday, had approved the revised and enhanced compensation for victims of violence, mainly focusing on women and children. PTI