Mother-daughter duo 'immolate' themselves during anti-encroachment drive in Uttar Pradesh
Kanpur (UP) (PTI): 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.
Rura Station House Officer (SHO) Dinesh Gautam and Pramila's husband, Gendan Lal, sustained burn injuries when they tried to save the victims, he added.
The aggrieved family members of the women allegedly beat up Lekhpal (revenue officer) Ashok Singh, following which the anti-encroachment team members fled the spot.
The victims' family members also put forward their demand before District Magistrate (DM) Neha Jain and Superintendent of Police (SP) BBGTS Murthy for the registration of an FIR against Sub-Divisional Magistrate (Maitha) Gyaneshwar Prasad, Lekhpal Singh and others.
Additional Director General of Police (Kanpur zone) Alok Singh, along with Divisional Commissioner Raj Shekhar, visited the village.
Officials said locals had made a complaint to the DM against Lal for "encroaching" the "gram samaj" land.
The SP said officials had gone to the village to carry out an anti-encroachment drive when the mother-daughter duo immolated themselves inside their hut.
"We have reached the spot and a probe is on," the officer said.
Reacting to the incident, the Samajwadi Party (SP) blamed the "insensitive" administration for the "murders".
"Under the Yogi (Adityanath) government, Brahmin families are targeted and such incidents are taking place selectively. Like Dalits and backwards, Brahmins are also a target of atrocities of the Yogi government," the opposition party said in a tweet in Hindi.
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3 Indians arrested in Canada for shooting outside home
Ottawa (PTI): Three Indian nationals have been arrested by Canadian police on an anti-extortion patrol and charged after bullets were fired at a home.
Harjot Singh (21), Taranveer Singh (19) and Dayajeet Singh Billing (21) face one count each of discharging a firearm, and all have been remanded in custody until Thursday, the Surrey Police Service (SPS) said in a statement on Monday.
The suspects were arrested by patrol officers after an early morning report of shots fired and a small fire outside a home in Surrey's Crescent Beach neighbourhood, the LakelandToday reported.
On February 1, 2026, the SPS members were patrolling in Surrey’s Crescent Beach neighbourhood when reports came in of shots being fired and a small fire outside a residence near Crescent Road and 132 Street.
The three accused were arrested by SPS officers a short time later, the statement said.
SPS’s Major Crime Section took over the investigation, and the three men have now been charged with Criminal Code offences, it said.
All three have been charged with one count each of discharging a firearm into a place contrary to section 244.2(1)(a) of the Criminal Code.
The investigation is ongoing, and additional charges may be forthcoming. All three have been remanded in custody until February 5, 2026.
The SPS has confirmed they are all foreign nationals and has engaged the Canada Border Services Agency, it said.
One of the suspects suffered injuries, including two black eyes, the media report said.
Surrey police Staff Sgt. Lindsey Houghton said on Monday that the suspect had refused to comply with instructions to get out of the ride-share vehicle and started to "actively resist."
"As we were trained, he was taken to the ground and safely handcuffed," said Houghton.
A second suspect with a black eye was also injured in the arrest after refusing to comply, Houghton said.
The arresting officers were part of Project Assurance, an initiative that patrols neighbourhoods that have been targeted by extortion violence.
Houghton said the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) is also involved because the men are foreign nationals, and the trio may face additional charges.
It's not clear if the men are in the country on tourist visas, a study permit, or a work permit, but Houghton said CBSA has started its own investigation into the men's status.
Surrey has seen a number of shootings at homes and businesses over the last several months, but there's been an escalation since the new year.
