New Delhi: A woman and her daughter died in a fire during an anti-encroachment demolition drive in Uttar Pradesh’s Kanpur Dehat district on Monday, February 13.Police have identified the woman as 44-year-old Pramila Dixit. Her daughter is Neha, whose age has been variously reported as 19 and 20. NDTV has reported that police have claimed that the two set themselves on fire. In a tweet, Kanpur Dehat Police noted that the incident was “tragic.”Times of India has reported that the police had gone to remove thatched huts from land it claimed belonged to the Gram Samaj or government.जनपद कानपुर देहात के थाना रुरा क्षेत्रान्तर्गत ग्राम मंडौली में ग्राम समाज की भूमि पर ज़िला प्रशासन द्वारा अवैध अतिक्रमण हटाने की कार्यवाही के दौरान घटित दुःखद घटना के संबंध में तथ्यात्मक स्थिति। pic.twitter.com/tYp2Eb5qRC— Kanpur Dehat Police (@kanpurdehatpol) February 13, 2023Police have also claimed that Rura Station House Officer (SHO) Dinesh Gautam and Pramila’s husband also sustained burn injuries while attempting to save the two.Times of India has reported that the family had had their original house demolished on January 13 this year on the instructions of SDM Maitha, revenue inspector Nand Kishore and Lekhpal Ashok Singh Chauhan. This demolition was done on the basis of a complaint filed by one Gedan Lal.With nowhere to live, the family had allegedly staged a sit-in at the district headquarters that day. On January 14, the Tehsildar of Akbarpur, Ranvijay Singh, filed a complaint against the four members.Kanpur Dehat Police’s initial statement in Hindi also refers to this course of events, with fewer details. Today, it has tweeted a new statement, also in Hindi, offering details on the complaint and the sequence of action taken by police as described above.Police also noted that on the basis of a complaint filed by Shivam Dixit, who reports have identified as Pramila’s son, an FIR has been registered against four people.#kanpurdehatpolice#UPPolice pic.twitter.com/ZXM2U7bQwY— Kanpur Dehat Police (@kanpurdehatpol) February 14, 2023The family had been living in a thatched hut for the time being, until the administration arrived on February 13.The deceased members’ family said that police set their hut on fire when the two were inside.“They started the fire while people were still inside. We were just about able to escape. They broke our temple. Nobody did anything, not even the DM (District Magistrate). Everybody ran, nobody could save my mother,” Shivam Dixit is quoted by NDTV as having said.Angry family members also demonstrated at the site. ADG Kanpur Zone Alok Singh and SP BBGTS Murti visited the spot and spoke to the family.Many on social media have posted photographs and videos from the site, in Madauli village of the Rura area of the district. Some videos show a JCB machine advancing towards a hut which is aflame while screams appear to alert men and women in uniform of the fact that there are people inside the hut. Another video circulating appears to show the mother and daughter refusing to come out of the hut, which is already partially on fire. Viewer discretion is advised while clicking on the links.
