The actor donated Rs9 lakh each to the families of the 12 CRPF soldiers killed in the Naxal ambush in Chhatisgarh.
Shriram Iyengar
Akshay Kumar donated Rs9 lakh each to the family of the 12 CRPF soldiers who were killed in an ambush by Naxals in Chhatisgarh on 11 March. According to PTI, the actor approached CRPF immediately after the incident to offer his help.
Reports quoted officials saying, "Soon after the incident, the actor approached the Union Home Ministry with a request to obtain the bank account numbers of the family members of the jawans who were killed in the 11 March ambush as he wanted to make a monetary donation to them."
The 49 year old actor is well known for portraying patriotic characters on screen, and has also been a regular participant in several charities. The officials added, "The Ministry accepted Akshay Kumar's request and directed the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) to share the bonafide bank account numbers of the families of the slain personnel. Akshay Kumar then transferred Rs9 lakh each in the bank accounts yesterday."
This is not the first time the actor has contributed economically to the family of a slain soldier. After the Uri attacks in Kashmir, the actor donated Rs80 lakh to the kin of the martyrs who perished. He even gave away Rs9 lakh to a soldier who succumbed to his injuries from the attack later. Speaking at a meet with the BSF soldiers after the attacks, Kumar had said, "They are decorated with lot of medals and that is good. But I looked at their faces. The samman (respect) was required for them but they need money too. You have to be practical. I thought how about giving them money and that is when I decided to give Rs5 lakh to each family."
Read more: Akshay Kumar visits BSF camp; calls for app to help Indian soldiers
The gesture from Kumar did not go unappreciated. Home Minister Rajnath Singh took to Twitter to applaud the move, calling it 'highly commendable'.
The generosity of Shri @akshaykumar is highly commendable. This gesture will inspire others to come forward & help the families of martyrs
— Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) March 16, 2017
Earlier this year, on Republic Day, the actor had announced plans for an app to allow citizens from across the country to contribute to the welfare of the families of slain soldiers. In a video, he had said, "If 15,000 people contribute Rs100, they can help the children, families of these soldiers."
Read more: Akshay Kumar's tribute to Armed Forces on eve of Republic Day deserves applause
The actor was recently seen alongside Saurabh Shukla and Annu Kapoor in the courtroom drama, Jolly LLB 2 (2017). He will also be seen playing a RAW officer in Shivam Nair's Naam Shabana.
The Special 26 actor is currently shooting for R Balki's Padman, alongside Radhika Apte and Sonam Kapoor. He will also be seen alongside Bhumi Trivedi in Toilet: Ek Prem Katha, and Rajinikanth in 2.0.
