Kanpur demolition drive: SDM, cops among 42 booked after mother-daughter death

Sub-Divisional Magistrate (Maitha) Gyaneshwar Prasad has also been placed under suspension. Besides, the cops have arrested bulldozer driver Deepak.

According to the media reports, the police have registered an FIR on charges of murder, attempt to murder apart from mischief by killing or maiming cattle, mischief by fire with intent to destroy the house, etc, and intentional insult.

On Monday, a 44-year-old woman and her 21-year-old daughter allegedly set themselves afire in a hut in the presence of police, district administration, and revenue officials, who had gone to Madauli village, in Kanpur, to remove encroachments from a “gram samaj” land.

The husband of the deceased woman claimed that the gram samaj land was with his family for nearly 100 years. He said that Ashok Dixit, a villager who registered the police complained to demolish their pucca structure in January this year. However, the family protested at the DM’s office. “We were insulted by the DM, ADM, and SDM (Maitha). They did not listen to us and we were thrown out of the campus,” the woman’s husband said.

“SDM Gyaneshwar reached the village in an hour with a JCB and heavy police contingent. My wife was just trying to stall the demolition but they killed her. No one helped them as they were burning,” he added.

Meanwhile, Uttar Pradesh’s Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak spoke to the bereaved family members, who were refusing to hand over the bodies for post-mortem, and assured them that their demands will be looked into.

Uttar Pradesh’s minister of state for women’s welfare Pratibha Shukla, who met the bereaved family, blamed the district officials.

She said that the “guilty officials from Lekhpal to District Magistrate won’t be spared”.

“UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath is very sensitive and he will make sure that strict action is initiated against the guilty officials very soon,” she said.

“I had been asked by the chief minister to visit the village and meet the bereaved family. He asked me to take stock of the incident and apprise him of the facts,” she said.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi attacked the ruling BJP over the incident. In a tweet in Hindi, he said, “When the arrogance of power takes away the people’s right to live, it is called dictatorship.”

“This ‘bulldozer policy’ has become the face of the cruelty of this government. India does not accept this,” the former Congress chief said.

The opposition Samajwadi Party (SP) blamed the “insensitive” administration for the “murders” and hit out at the government for stopping a Samajwadi Party delegation from going to the village to express condolences to the victims’ families.