Killed on duty: 1cr relief for TS constable

The government of Telangana on Sunday announced ex-gratia of Rs1 crore to the family of excise constable Gajula Soumya, who died in an alleged attack by Gaanja smugglers.

The 25-year-old succumbed at a hospital in Hyderabad on Saturday night after remaining critical for a week.

The government also announced a job for Soumya’s brother.

It was also decided to conduct her funeral with police honours. Nizamabad district Collector has been directed to make necessary arrangements.

Excise Minister Jupally Krishna Rao visited Gandhi Hospital to pay last respects to Soumya, who displayed extraordinary courage in the line of duty.

The minister consoled the family members and assured them of all assistance from the government. He announced that the government will disburse her salary from the date of her service until retirement age to her family members.

The courage and dedication she showed in the line of duty are truly inspiring. It is commendable that Excise Department employees have decided to donate one day's salary to Soumya's family members and stand in solidarity with their colleague's family, he said.

Krishna Rao stated that the safety of Excise Department officers and staff is the government's responsibility. He said stringent measures will be taken to prevent such incidents from recurring in the future. He declared that the criminals targeting excise department employees will be dealt with utmost severity.

The minister said the proposal to provide arms to Excise Department officers was under consideration by our government, and a decision will be taken soon.

Earlier, Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy directed the police to take strict action against those responsible for the death of Soumya.

She succumbed at Nizam’s Institute of Medical Science (NIMS) last night. She was brought here on January 25 and was admitted to the Emergency Department before being shifted to the Respiratory Intensive Care Unit. She remained in a critical condition, unconscious and on life support, with multiple organ systems under strain.

She had sustained critical injuries after she was run over by a car belonging to a Ganja smuggling gang in Nizamabad district.

The incident had occurred during a vehicle check near Madhavnagar village in Nizamabad district on the night of January 23.