UP: Fire kills mother-daughter duo during anti-encroachment demolition drive
What's the story
A fire during an anti-encroachment drive claimed the lives of a 45-year-old woman and her 20-year-old daughter at Madauli village in Uttar Pradesh's Kanpur Dehat district on Monday, reported NDTV. The residents also claimed the administration didn't serve them any notice prior to the demolition. The UP Police has booked 13 people, including the sub-divisional magistrate, station house officer, and bulldozer operator, for murder.
Allegations
Action taken to remove encroachments from gram samaj land: Officials
The police, district administration, and revenue officials reached the village with an earthmover to free gram samaj (government) land from alleged encroachments. The aggrieved family alleged cops set fire to their hut while the mother-daughter duo—Pramila Dixit and Neha—was inside. However, local police claimed they self-immolated. The station house officer and Pramila's husband, Gendan Lal, reportedly sustained burn injuries while trying to save them.
Twitter Post
Tension prevailed in area after incident
A harrowing incident from Kanpur where a mother and daughter immolated themselves when the adminstration arrived to remove an encroachment. More details awaited. #Kanpur #immolation #breakingnews pic.twitter.com/ZG2ZcbTsf7
— Puja Awasthi (@pujaawasthi) February 13, 2023
Turn of events
They broke our temple, DM didn't help: Deceased's kin
Pramila's son Shivam Dixit told NDTV that his family, including the mother-daughter duo, was inside their hut when officials allegedly set it on fire. Everyone managed to escape except the two; the officials also broke their temple, but the district magistrate didn't do anything to stop it, he alleged. Meanwhile, the police said the official video of the demolition drive would also be probed.
Aftermath
Clash between residents, police
After the deaths, a clash ensued as residents threw bricks at cops, forcing them to leave. The accused were charged with attempted murder and voluntarily causing hurt. Divisional Commissioner Raj Shekhar visited to pacify the villagers and said an inquiry was ordered into the matter. The Samajwadi Party (SP) targeted the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), saying nobody was safe under the Yogi Adityanath government.
Bulldozer
BJP earlier hailed bulldozer governance, others call it anti-poor
The BJP-ruled UP is one of the several Indian states where the bulldozer has lately come to symbolize "development" by the government. The BJP and its supporters claim that the government was freeing public land by clearing encroachments by land sharks and the real estate mafia. However, the government has drawn flak for demolishing houses without judicial approval, which often belong to the poor.