Gangster Vikas Dubey shot dead, was trying to escape
Gangster Vikas Dubey, who was arrested from Madhya Pradesh's Ujjain yesterday after giving Uttar Pradesh police the slip for nearly a week, is dead, the police confirmed on Friday. He was shot dead on way to Kanpur when he tried to escape after a police car, carrying him, overturned. Earlier, at least five of his associates were killed in different encounters.
Dubey was on the run since last Friday after he orchestrated a sensational operation in Bikru village, wherein eight cops were killed. The cops had gone for a raid when his henchmen cornered them and fired from the rooftop. The deceased included a DSP. Subsequently, a Special Task Force was formed to nab him. A bounty of Rs. 5 lakh was announced as well.
The manhunt was not limited to UP, with police looking for him in Faridabad, Gurugram, and Delhi. There were speculations that he might surrender at a court outside his home state. On Tuesday, Dubey, who was named in at least 60 criminal cases, was spotted at a hotel in Faridabad but escaped before the police search party arrived. Subsequently, police in NCR was alerted.
With police in several states on alert, Dubey mysteriously managed to reach MP. Yesterday morning he was seen casually walking at the famed Mahakal Temple. Apparently, a shopkeeper recognized him and informed the police. However, some reports claimed it was Dubey who asked the security guards to tell cops about his whereabouts. At the temple, at least a dozen police officers took him away.
While he was being escorted from the temple, Dubey declared his identity. "Main Vikas Dubey Hoon, Kanpurwala," he shouted, loud enough for the cameras to record it. Instantly, a cop slapped him ordering him to keep shut. The events leading to his arrest raised questions with the opposition asking UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to clarify if he had surrendered.
Cheering his arrest, MP CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan said he was in touch with Adityanath and Dubey would be sent to UP soon. Today at around 7 am, one car of the convoy overturned near the Barra area, possibly due to heavy rains, injuring Dubey, an STF sub-inspector, and two constables. When he was being taken out, Dubey reportedly snatched a pistol and fled.
According to SP West Kanpur Anil Kumar, Dubey managed to flee and was asked to surrender, but he opened fire instead. "He was shot dead in the crossfire, some cops were also injured," Kumar added. The gangster was taken to Harlett Hospital where the doctors pronounced him dead. Meanwhile, defending the police's action, SSP Kanpur Dinesh Kumar said, "Everything we did was in self-defense."
