In a tragic incident, a 45-year-old woman and her 20-year-old daughter allegedly died after they immolated themselves during an anti-encroachment drive in a village in Kanpur Dehat district of Uttar Pradesh on Monday.
Pramila Dixit (45) and her daughter Neha (20) allegedly took the extreme step 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.
According to reports, the inhabitants of a thatched hut protested when authorities had gone there to remove "illegal encroachments."
The women threatened to set themselves on fire. Subsequently, a fire broke out inside the hut charing 44-year-old Pramila and her daughter Neha, 19, to death.
Pramila Dixit (45) and her daughter Neha (20) allegedly took the extreme step 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.
The villagers accused the authorities of being responsible for the fire which killed Pramila and her daughter.
Pramila's husband Krishna Gopal claimed that the officials in connivance with influential people of the village targetted his family.
The police claimed that Pramila and her daughter set themselves on fire. An investigation has been ordered into the incident.
(With inputs from PTI)