SDM, cops among 39 booked after mother-daughter allegedly immolate themselves during anti-encroachment drive; Oppn attacks govt

Kanpur (UP), Feb 14 (PTI) A day after a mother-daughter duo died allegedly due to self-immolation during an anti-encroachment drive in Kanpur Dehat, police on Tuesday booked 39 people including a sub-divisional magistrate, four revenue officials, a police station head and several other cops on murder and other charges.

Sub-Divisional Magistrate (Maitha) Gyaneshwar Prasad has been placed under suspension, said Inspector General of Police (Kanpur Range) Prashant Kumar.

The FIR has been registered on charges of murder, attempt to murder apart from mischief by killing or maiming cattle, mischief by fire with intent to destroy house, etc and intentional insult. The police have arrested one of the accused whose identity hasn’t been disclosed so far, the officer told PTI over the phone.

He added that the JCB which was used in the demolition of the victims’ house has been seized.

The family members and local villagers have refused to give the bodies for post-mortem examination, the police said, adding a heavy police deployment has been made in and around the village as tension prevailed after the deaths.

The villagers were adamant over their demand that they will allow police to take the bodies for autopsy only after the arrival of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. They also demanded ex-gratia of Rs 5 crore and a government job to at least two members of the bereaved family, according to the IGP Kumar.

Kumar said stern action will be taken against the erring cops including station house officer (Rural) Dinesh Gautam who is likely to be placed under suspension very soon.

A case of murder and attempt to murder has also been lodged against more than a dozen unnamed people, said sources.

The opposition Samajwadi Party (SP) blamed the “insensitive” administration for the “murders”.

“Under the Yogi (Adityanath) government, Brahmin families are targeted and such incidents are taking place selectively. Like Dalits and the backwards, Brahmins are also a target of atrocities of the Yogi government,” the party alleged in a tweet in Hindi.

It also claimed that the administration stopped a Samajwadi Party delegation that was going to the village to express condolences to the victim’s family.

The IG, however, evaded a query on the matter.

The party had sent an 11-member delegation that included MLAs Manoj Pandey, Amitabh Bajpai, Vinod Chaturvedi, Pradeep Yadav and Mohd Hasan alias Rumi to go to Madauli village to take stock of the tragic incident.

Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said that the victims’ family should get justice and strict action should be taken against the culprits.

“…the heart-rending incident of Kanpur is condemnable. We all have to raise our voice against this inhumane action. The victims’ family should get justice and strict action should be taken against the culprits,” Vadra said in a tweet in Hindi.

Pramila Dixit (45) and her daughter Neha (20) allegedly set themselves afire in a hut in the presence of police, district administration and revenue officials, who had gone to Madauli village in the Rura area of the district to remove encroachments from a “gram samaj” land, a police official said.

Superintendent of Police (Kanpur Dehat) BBGTS Murthy told reporters that Vishal Dixit had filed a complaint against Shivam Dixit, son of Pramila Dixit, alleging encroachment of ‘gram samaj’ land following which district administration team headed by SDM Gyaneshwar Prasad had gone there to remove the encroachment.

The encroachment was being removed when the mother-daughter died after they immolated themselves, the SP added.

Rural Station House Officer (SHO) Dinesh Gautam and Pramila’s husband, Gendan Lal, sustained burn injuries when they tried to save the victims, he added.

The family members of the women allegedly beat up lekhpal (revenue officer) Ashok Singh, following which the anti-encroachment team members fled the spot.