New Delhi, Aug 10 - The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) Monday asked the Uttar Pradesh government to pay a compensation amount of Rs.300,000 each to the families of two men killed in a fake police shoot-out six years ago.

Ram Shankar and Prabhat Singh were killed Sept 2, 2003, and their families alleged that they were killed in a fake shoot-out.

However, the state police said that while investigating a bus robbery, they overheard Shankar and Singh conversing and were convinced that they had something to do with the robbery. Police alleged that the two started firing at them and police had to return fire in self-defence, killing them.

However, the state crime branch found later that the police report was not true. Thereafter, the Uttar Pradesh government responded to the NHRC's show cause notice on the issue May 13, 2008, and said that the victims' families deserved monetary relief.

'The commission has therefore asked the Uttar Pradesh government to compensate the families of the two victims with a sum of Rs.300,000 each,' an NHRC official said.