Four arrested in mother-daughter self-immolation case in UP

Four people have been arrested in Amethi after a woman and her daughter set themselves on fire outside the chief minister's office in Lucknow alleging police inaction in a case of dispute over a drain, police said on Sunday.

The condition of the woman and her daughter continues to be critical, a senior doctor said.

Circle officer of Gauriganj Arpit Kapoor said, "Four persons have been arrested in the Jamo police station area of the district. The four persons were arrested yesterday. They are Arjun, Sunil, Rajkaran and Ram Milan. These four persons were involved in a dispute with Safia and Gudia over the usage of a drain." A case was registered against them under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) at the Jamo police station on May 9, Kapoor said.

He also said that All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) district president Kadeer Khan was arrested by police late on Saturday night, and has been taken to Lucknow in connection with this case.

Meanwhile, Dr Ashutosh Kumar Dubey, medical superintendent of Shyama Prasad Mookerjee Civil Hospital, Lucknow, told PTI on Sunday, "The condition of the mother continues to be critical. Her daughter is out of danger, and is recovering." The Amethi police suspended three policemen on Saturday in connection with the incident.

The Lucknow police, however, on Saturday said the women were instigated by Congress leader Anoop Patel to set themselves on fire as part of a "criminal conspiracy" and a case has been filed against him along with three others.

No suicide note was recovered from Safia (55) or her daughter Gudia, Amethi Superintendent of Police Khyati Garg said on Saturday.

Garg and Amethi District Magistrate Arun Kumar said Safia had a dispute with her neighbour over a drain and the two had even exchanged blows in the past.