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Kanpur fire mishap: Guilty will get ‘exemplary punishment’, say ministers
While minister of state Pratibha Shukla, the lawmaker from the area where the incident occurred, said she rushed to the spot on the directions of chief minister Yogi Adityanath and remained there till 3 am, deputy chief minister Brajesh Pathak spoke to the kin of the deceased over a video call.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has deployed its Brahmin leaders to contain the fallout of the incident wherein a woman and her daughter were burnt alive after their thatched house caught fire during an anti-encroachment drive in Kanpur Dehat on Monday.
While minister of state Pratibha Shukla, the lawmaker from the area where the incident occurred, said she rushed to the spot on the directions of chief minister Yogi Adityanath and remained there till 3 am, deputy chief minister Brajesh Pathak spoke to the kin of the deceased over a video call.
Both leaders promised “exemplary punishment” against those who would be found responsible in an inquiry, whose report was expected by Tuesday evening.
The deceased were identified as Pramila, 44, and her daughter Neha, 21, officials said.
“It’s shocking. The CM is very serious about the incident. He has asked me to visit the site. Even today, I met the CM to brief him about the incident. It is clear that there has been a shocking lapse on part of the officials. It is unimaginable how an anti-encroachment drive was being carried out when there were people inside the structure that was to be cleared. I am a lawmaker from the area and a minister for women’s welfare. So, it’s all the more painful for me,” she said.
Pathak, on the other hand, in a video conversation with the kin of the deceased said they were “like family” to him and the guilty would be given exemplary punishment.
“There is no question of the guilty being spared,” he added.
