PIL in Supreme Court predicted Vikas Dubey's death by encounter
What's the story
Hours before wanted criminal Vikas Dubey was gunned down by Uttar Pradesh Police in Kanpur this morning, a PIL was filed in the Supreme Court predicting the same, whilst demanding a CBI inquiry into the extra-judicial deaths of his aides in last few days. The plea, filed by Ghanshyam Upadhyay, expressed concern over the "instant justice" tendency of the police. Here's all about it.
Context
From last Friday to this Friday: The Vikas Dubey story
Last Friday, Dubey hatched one of the most heinous crimes in UP, which ended in the death of eight cops, including a DSP. The massacre happened at Bikru village when a police team went for a raid and were welcomed by bullets. After a large-scale manhunt, Dubey was arrested from Madhya Pradesh yesterday morning and was shot dead today as "he tried to escape."
Encounters
Notably, close aides of Dubey were killed one by one
While Dubey remained at large for almost a week, UP Police launched a concerted effort to nab his aides, especially those involved in the Kanpur carnage. On Wednesday, Amar Dubey, seen as Dubey's "shadow," was killed in Hamirpur district. A day later, Prabhat and Praveen, both associates of the gangster, were shot dead. It was told that Prabhat tried to flee from police custody.
Plea
Plea claimed UP Police might cook "similar story of encounter"
Pointing towards these deaths, Upadhyay said, "There is every possibility that even accused Vikas Dubey shall be killed by Uttar Pradesh Police like other co-accused once his custody is obtained by Uttar Pradesh Police." He even claimed that UP Police could "concoct the same story of an encounter." The lawyer reminded that even terrorists Ajmal Kasab and Afzal Guru were given a fair trial.
Quote
No sympathy for Dubey but encounters look fake: Petitioner
Saying that he has no sympathy for Dubey, the lawyer said he was "disturbed and anguished at the growing tendency of police doing instant justice by killing accused under the guise of encounters, which on the face of it appear to be fake."
Death
Like his aides, Dubey was also killed in an encounter
Before Upadhyay's plea could get SC's attention, Dubey, who enjoyed police and politicians' support for years, was killed. Unsurprisingly, the same story was peddled - he managed to snatch a pistol, fired at police officers, and was killed in retaliation. Minutes before Dubey was killed, the car in which he was traveling allegedly overturned. Police said he snatched the firearm while being taken out.
Questions
However, video clips puncture police's version of the encounter
As it turns out, some videos expose the faultlines in the police's version. A clip of a toll booth, taken around 4 am, showed Dubey wasn't sitting in the car which overturned. Further, media persons who followed the convoy were stopped by police at the Sachendi area of Kanpur around 6:30 am. Moreover, an eyewitness said police asked him to exit the encounter site.
Quote
Passerby heard gunshots, was asked to leave by police
"The sound that we heard here was of gunshots...When we were coming to see, the police sent us away. We were on our way home," a passerby told news agency ANI. UP Police is expected to answer doubts about encounter's authenticity at a press meet.