Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh today announced an ex gratia of Rs 5 lakh to the next of kin of the Punjab soldier who was among the 25 Central Reserve Police Force personnel killed in the Sukma Naxal attack.

The compensation amount will be handed over to the family of the martyred soldier, Inspector Raghbir Singh, an official spokesperson said in Chandigarh.

Inspector Singh, a native of village Sathiala in Amritsar district, was part of the 74th Battallion of CRPF, which was targeted in one of the worst ever Maoist attacks in Burkapal area of south Sukma district of Chhattisgarh.

Expressing grief at the 'senseless act' of violence, Chief Minister Singh urged the central government to work on a comprehensive policy to deal with the Naxal problem. -- PTI