Pulwama martyr's widow says she is under pressure to marry brother-in-law for compensation money

The widow of one of the CRPF jawans killed in the Pulwama terror attack has alleged that her husband's family is pressuring her to marry her brother-in-law so that the compensation money remains in the family.

Kalavati, the 20-year-old widow of H Guru, has approached police in Karnataka's Mandya on Wednesday, asking for help to resolve the issue, Time of India reported. Guru's brother is reportedly more or less the same age as Kalavathi.

Guru, 33, was among the 40 CRPF personnel killed in the Pulwama terror attack, in which a Kashmiri youth radicalised by Pakistan-backed Jaish-e-Mohammed carried out a suicide car bomb attack on a security convoy. 

There is a significant amount money in question in what is turning out to be a dispute in the martyr's family. Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy had announced compensation of Rs 25 lakh to Guru's family, and promised a government job for Kalavathi. Infosys Foundation, the CSR arm of the IT giant, had announced it would give Rs 10 lakh to the families of all the martyrs. There have also been contributions from a number of other organisations and groups, not to mention what is due from the CRPF and the Centre.

Apart from these, Sumalatha, widow of Kannada actor-politician Ambareesh, has promised to give Guru's family half of acre of land close to their village of Gudigere near Maddur.

Police in Mandya told Times of India that they had not formally recorded a complaint in the matter in light of its sensitivity as a family matter, and were waiting to see if it would be sorted out amicably.

However, the cops cautioned Guru's family, saying action would be taken if any laws were violated.

Guru and Kalavathi had been married for 10 months before he was killed in the attack. He had visited home on leave for 10 days and had re-joined duty on the day he was killed in the attack. Kalavathi is reportedly pursuing an MA degree.