Rajasthan: Contractual worker ends life; govt declares Rs 10 lakh aid for kin

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Manish Kumar Saini, who worked as a clerk for the Advocate General's Office, allegedly died by suicide after hanging himself on the Rajasthan High Court's premises for not getting his monthly stipend for several months, ANI reported.

According to ANI, following the news, the state government will pay the family Rs 10 lakh, stated the Advocate General's office on Friday.

Additionally, the Advocate General's office will provide Rs 1 lakh. The deceased's wife, Seema Kumar Saini, has also been assured of employment.

As per ANI, former Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has asked the state government to provide financial support to the family of the contract worker.

"The suicide of contract employee Mr Manish Saini in Rajasthan High Court is very sad. I pray to God for peace of the departed soul and courage to the family members. Mr. Manish was a low-paid contract worker. The state government should ensure financial assistance to the victim's family," said the former Rajasthan CM to ANI.

"During our government, contractual service rules were made and the screening process was started to secure the future of about one lakh ten thousand contract workers. The present government should immediately take the said process forward and regularise all contract workers and give them proper pay scale," he added.

On Friday, the deceased's family members held a dharna on court premises. The lawyers also protested and blocked the roadways outside the high court.

According to the deceased's brother, Ravish Saini, Manish wanted to become a regular employee of the High Court, and that a matter involving salary payment was pending in the Supreme Court, ANI reported.

"A case had been going regarding making him a regular employee of the High Court. The case is in Supreme Court, whenever he used to go for a hearing, he used to only get tareekh pe tareekh (date after date). He used to only get Rs 4000 to Rs 4.5 thousand salary, so all that was spent on travelling. So because of that he did this," he said.

Moreover, Sunita Saini, the aunt of the deceased claimed that they very informed about the death of Manish after the workers in the court told them.

"His suicide note is here, we got information from the workers after they called us that Manish has done this. We said that he left home in a good mood, he bought food too. He didn't say that he had any fight or enmity with anyone in work," she said to ANI.

She further added that Manish had expressed in his suicide note that the Rajasthan government's inability to decide on his employment and the case were causing him great distress.

"We read his suicide note, in that he said that Rajasthan Government has not decided on my issue and I am very troubled by the case. He was in lakhs of rupees of debt, and because of that, he took this step," she said.

She also demanded that the wife of the deceased be given a job, a compensation of Rs 1 crore and support for her children's education.

"We demand that his widowed wife get a job, Rs 1 crore compensation and education for the children. We are demanding this for the past 8 hours, the administration is so slow that nobody is listening to us," she said to ANI.

Besides, the payment for contractual staff has been revised and will be effective from October 1, 2024, ANI reported.

As per ANI, the salary of a stenographer has been increased from Rs 4,400 to Rs 17,000. The salary of junior clerk has been increased from Rs 5,600 to Rs 14,000, and the book lifter's salary's has been increased from Rs 4,400 to Rs 11,000.