Woman, daughter burnt alive during UP eviction drive; SDN, revenue officer suspended

A woman and her teenage daughter were burnt alive allegedly during an eviction drive in Uttar Pradesh's Kanpur Dehat district, about 150 kilometres from here, triggering a huge backlash in the state with the opposition parties accusing the BJP government of 'harassing' and 'intimidating' the people with use of bulldozers to demolish 'illegal' houses.

According to the police sources here on Tuesday, the mother-daughter duo entered into the thatched house at Madauli village in the district which had allegedly been set on fire on the instruction of the sub-divisional magistrate and the revenue officer, who were present there during the eviction drive on Monday.

The family members, however, alleged that the woman and her daughter were inside the thatched house when it was set on fire, trapping the duo inside. ''My mother and sister kept shouting that the house had been set on fire by the officials.....they were trapped inside and could not come out and burnt to death,'' Shival Dixit, the son of the woman, identified as Pramila Dixit, said.

A video of the incident also became viral later purportedly showing the woman and her daughter, Shivi, inside the burning house as the officials and others stood outside their house watching the burning house.

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Sources said that the district officials, led by an SDM, had reached the spot to evict the family from the house which was allegedly built on the panchayat land. In the viral video Pramila is seen entering the house with her daughter when the bulldozer starts demolishing the house and closes the door from inside. A little later a woman constable broke the door and then Pramila was seen shouting that the house had been set on fire.

As the incident triggered a massive backlash and the opposition leaders announced their plans to meet the victims' family, the administration blocked their entry into the village and detained many opposition leaders, who were on the way, sources said.

''The true face of the BJP government stands exposed.....bet bachao is merely a slogan for the BJP,'' said senior Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Shivpal Singh Yadav.

The incident also took a casteist turn after the opposition parties alleged that 'brahmins' were being 'targeted' by the BJP government in the state. The victims belonged to the 'brahmin' community.

The family members agreed to cremate the bodies after the administration announced suspension of the SDM and the revenue officer and lodged a case of murder against them and some others. The SDM and the revenue officer were later taken into custody, sources said.