Russian President Vladimir Putin has pardoned a convicted murderer after his decided to enlist for the war in Ukraine. Vladislav Kanyus served less than a year of his 17-year sentence for brutally killing his ex-girlfriend, Vera Pekhteleva, reports suggest.

Kanyus had stabbed his ex-girlfriend 111 times, raped and tortured her for three-and-a-half hours, for breaking up with him. He then strangled her with a cable iron, ultimately killing her, according to The Sun. Hearing her scream, neighbours called the police seven times, but their calls went unanswered.

This revelation came after Vera Pekhteleva’s mother, Oksana, discovered photographs of Kanyus in a military uniform holding a weapon. The mourning mother lamented, “This was a blow at me. My child will rot in her grave and I’ve been deprived of everything – my life, any hope.”

“I don’t live, I exist. This simply finished me off, it just totally finished me off. I am a very strong person. But this lawlessness of our state just pushes me into a dead end. I don’t know what to do next,” she cried.

Women’s rights activist Alyona Popova on Wednesday said that prison authorities confirmed Kanyus’ transfer to Rostov in southern Russia, bordering Ukraine. She shared a letter from the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office dated November 3, stating that Kanyus had been pardoned, and his conviction was expunged by a presidential decree on April 27. 

Oksana is heartbroken and blames Putin for pardoning her daughter’s killer. She is confused by the decision to let him join the war after murdering her daughter and is now worried for her own safety. “How could a cruel murderer be given a weapon? Why is he sent to the front – to defend Russia? He is scum. He is not a human being,” she said.

“[The killer] can at any moment kill any of us, the victims, out of revenge.”

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov defended the policy, saying that Russian prisoners sent to fight in Ukraine are atoning for their crimes “with blood,” AFP reported. “Those convicted, including for serious crimes, are atoning with blood for their crime on the battlefield,” Peskov told reporters.

At least 19 people have died in Haryana after consuming suspected poisonous liquor, with villagers demanding action against liquor dealers and police arresting seven people in connection with the case, including the sons of a Congress leader and a Jannayak Janata Party (JJP) leader.

The deaths have occurred in the villages of Mandebari, Panjeto Ka Majra, Phoosgarh, and Saran villages in Yamunanagar and in neighbouring Ambala district.

Opposition parties have slammed the Manohar Lal Khattar government over the deaths. The parties accused the Haryana government of failing to learn lessons from similar incidents in the past.

“My father died of alcohol poisoning last night. He was addicted to alcohol, but he usually only consumed a small amount. He had been drinking with friends who had also died from alcohol poisoning in the past,” said Ravinder, whose 70-year-old father is one of the victims.

Police have arrested seven suspects so far and are conducting raids to arrest more. However, the villagers are afraid to speak out openly against these liquor dealers, fearing for their lives.

“I am afraid. Our lives could be in danger if we raise our voices,” said one villager.

Two migrant labourers from Uttar Pradesh died in Ambala on Thursday after consuming suspected spurious liquor manufactured illegally in the district, police said.

Ambala police confiscated 200 crates of counterfeit liquor made in an abandoned factory and supplied to arrested suspects in Yamunanagar. The police also seized 14 empty drums and the materials used to make the illicit liquor.

Police are investigating the accused’s manufacturing timeline and accomplices. A Yamunanagar Police has formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the case.

Several houseboats on Dal lake in Jammu and Kashmir’s Srinagar were reduced to ashes in a massive fire early this morning, the police said.

Police said the fire broke out at a houseboat near Ghat number 9 of Dal lake, which quickly spread and engulfed other houseboats.

While five houseboats have been completely destroyed, several others suffered damage, officials said.

“There were no immediate reports of injuries or loss of lives in the fire,” they said.

Police said the cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained.