Not the end: Slain cop's family on Vikas Dubey's encounter
The death of Vikas Dubey, who was wanted by Uttar Pradesh Police in connection to the death of eight cops, is not the end of the story but the beginning, the family member of a slain senior police officer said. Though the mastermind of the ambush has been eliminated, the family wants punishment for those who "protected him." Here's more on what they said.
A dreaded criminal, Dubey flourished for years, enjoying the patronage of cops and politicians. Earlier this month, he attacked a police search party in Bikru village after he was informed about an impending raid. At least four cops who "worked for him" were suspended. After committing the heinous crime, he remained at large and was arrested from Ujjain, some 700 kilometer away from Kanpur.
The deceased included DSP Devendra Mishra. On Dubey's death, his brother-in-law Kamla Kant Mishra said the family had only one takeaway from the episode. "The only sense of justice I feel is that we can carry out rituals of our family member with the knowledge that at least his murderer is not alive," he said, adding that the disease in society still remains.
Mishra had plenty of questions as well. He asked if the politicians who sheltered him would ever be punished. "How did Dubey kill someone in a thana (police station) and get away?" he said, referring to the 2001 incident when the gangster shot a BJP politician. Back then, 25 cops, who saw the murder, shockingly turned hostile in the court after Dubey surrendered.
Expressing some sort of disapproval, Mishra said had Dubey been alive, some "white-collared" criminals could have been brought to justice. "I don't think that it is the end of the story; rather, this is just the beginning. One Vikas Dubey has died, but ten others will replace him. Sixteen are still at large," he said, adding that evil needs to be eradicated from roots.
Meanwhile, confirming Dubey's death, the police stuck to a common template. It was told that the criminal, reportedly in his 50s, tried to run after a car carrying him toppled on the highway. He managed to snatch a pistol, fired when asked to surrender, and was shot dead, police said, not surprising many but sparking questions. Opposition targeted Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's government.
Weighing in on the matter, former CM Akhilesh Yadav tweeted, "Actually, the car didn't topple. The UP government has been saved from toppling by secrets that would have been revealed." Congress' Priyanka Gandhi Vadra echoed the same emotion. "The criminal has gone, but what about the crime and those protecting him," she asked. However, police maintained their actions were driven out of "self-defense."
