Pulwama terror attack: Salman and Ajay lend support to victims' kin

Amitabh Bachchan, Akshay Kumar, Salman Khan and Ajay Devgn

As the nation mourns the loss of its bravehearts in the Pulwama terror attack on Thursday, people across the country are joining forces to lend their support to the kin of the victims. Within 48 hours of the attack, Amitabh Bachchan and Akshay Kumar pledged financial assistance to the slain jawans' families. Now, Salman Khan and Ajay Devgn too have paid their homage - while Khan has pledged Rs 5 lakh to each of the families of the heroes, Devgn has committed to contribute Rs 50 lakh on behalf of the cast and crew of Total Dhamaal.

Says a source, "In recent times, Bollywood stars have often been pulled up for not taking a stand on sensitive issues, but they would rather do their bit silently. Ajay Devgn, who is producing Total Dhamaal [along with Indra Kumar and Ashok Thakeria] has contributed Rs 50 lakh, and is consulting the PMO to expedite the process. Salman, too, has committed to donate Rs 2.5 crore to the families of the 49 soldiers who lost their lives or were injured in the attack. He is doing it through his foundation, Being Human." Yesterday, Minister of State for Home Affairs, Kiren Rijiju took to social media to thank Khan for his gesture.

In the dastardly attack, Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorist Adil Ahmed Dar rammed his explosive-laden SUV into a Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) bus on the Srinagar-Jammu highway, thus claiming over 40 lives. Soon after, Kumar reportedly donated Rs 5 crore to Bharat Ke Veer, the fund-raising initiative that was launched in April 2017 to help the next of kin of slain soldiers. He also urged fellow countrymen to do their bit for the cause.

A source close to the actor says, "The Bharat Ke Veer fund has received an unprecedented response in the past three days. Till yesterday, it had received about Rs 18 crore, excluding Akshay's contribution of Rs 5 crore. Akshay is in London, but is keeping a tab on the goings-on." When mid-day reached out to the team of Total Dhamaal, the film's spokesperson confirmed the news of the contribution. While Khan remained unavailable for comment, a source from his team informed, "He hasn't finalised the amount, but he will make the contribution today."

Also read: Pulwama terror attack: Akshay Kumar, Salman Khan, Rishi Kapoor, Shabana Azmi condemn

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