22 years on, promises unmet: UP braveheart's mother offers to return Shaurya Chakra

Twenty-two years after her son was killed fighting terrorists in Manipur, the 80-year-old mother of Shaurya Chakra awardee Vivek Saxena has offered to return the medals and monetary honours given to him.

Savitri Saxena says she is exhausted by years of running from one government office to another over land and other benefits promised to her family after Vivek's death. She raised the issue at a grievance redressal event in Lucknow, where she asked the government to either fulfil its promises or take back the honours given in her son's name.

Vivek, a former Assistant Commandant, was killed in action in Manipur on January 8, 2003. He was later awarded the Shaurya Chakra and the President's Police Medal for his bravery.

LAND PROMISE REMAINS UNFULFILLED

According to Vivek's elder brother Ranjit, the government had promised the family land and a memorial after his death. The family says the land allotment has still not been completed more than two decades later.

The issue was taken up by then Lucknow District Magistrate Raj Shekhar in 2016. Officials were directed to examine the family's applications and start the process for the memorial and land allotment.

But the process later ran into another hurdle. The family was asked to prove that it was originally from Uttar Pradesh, Ranjit said.

“We grew up here, studied here, and my brother's memento is at Air Force Station Memora. Yet we were asked to submit an affidavit stating where our mother lived before her marriage,” Ranjit told India Today TV.

The family submitted the affidavit, but officials subsequently questioned whether they were original residents of Uttar Pradesh and told them that the benefits could not be provided, he said.

FAMILY QUESTIONS DOMICILE DEMAND

Ranjit said the family later found an old receipt showing that the Uttar Pradesh government had issued them a cheque for Rs 75,000 at the same address.

The family questioned why they were being asked to prove their domicile when government records showed that money had previously been sent to them at that address.

The dispute over the family's benefits did not end there. Ranjit said the family received the monetary award linked to the Shaurya Chakra only in 2024, more than two decades after Vivek's death.

He alleged that the file remained stuck for months as it moved from one department to another, with officials reluctant to complete the verification.

‘I DON'T HAVE THE STRENGTH ANYMORE’

Savitri said she no longer has the strength at 80 to keep visiting government offices.

She has now sought an appointment with President Droupadi Murmu and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. She has also asked the government to take back the Shaurya Chakra, medals and monetary honours given to her son if the family must continue to struggle for the land promised to them.

Following her complaint, the Sub-Divisional Magistrate directed officials to investigate the family's grievances and resolve them within a week.