Gangster Vikas Dubey, who is wanted in connection with Kanpur ambush in which eight policemen were killed, has been arrested from Ujjain, according to reports. He was reportedly identified near Ujjain Mahakaal Mandir. There were no police alert or tip off. He got himself an entry ticket, identifying himself and causing local police to pick him up.
What was the Kanpur incident?
Eight police personnel were killed in the wee hours of Friday last week as they attempted to arrest Dubey, a criminal with 60 cases listed against him since 1993. The incident took place in Bikaru village which falls under Kanpur’s Chaubepur block.
Around 1am on Friday, a police team, including a deputy superintendent of police and an inspector surrounded the home of Vikas Dubey, a history sheeter whose many crimes include the murder of a BJP leader Santosh Shukla inside a police station. JCBs had been placed some distance from the house, forcing the team to get down from its vehicles. In the indiscriminate firing that followed, with the criminals having an advantage as they were at a height, eight policemen lost their lives while four were grievously injured. Two criminals were also killed, though the rest, including Dubey, managed to escape. The police action was prompted by a fresh case filed against Dubey for attempt to murder.
Hunt for Dubey
A massive manhunt had ensued, with focus on Indo-Nepal border areas; there were intelligence inputs that he might try to escape to the neighbouring country. At the same time, two aides of Dubey, wanted in connection with the Kanpur ambush, were gunned down in separate encounters in Uttar Pradesh on Thursday.
While Kartikeya alias Prabhat was killed in Kanpur when he tried to flee from police custody, another aide of Vikas Dubey, Praveen alias Bauwa Dubey, was shot dead in an encounter in Etawah.
Kartikeya, who was arrested from Faridabad on Wednesday, was being brought to Kanpur on transit remand when he snatched the pistol of a policeman and tried to flee, ADG, Law and Order Prashant Kumar said. “The encounter took place in the Panki area of Kanpur when a police team was bringing Kartikeya alias Prabhat from Faridabad to Kanpur on transit remand. The police vehicle had a flat tyre. Taking advantage of the situation, Kartikeya tried to flee after snatching the pistol of a policeman,” he said.
Kartikeya opened fire at the policemen accompanying him, injuring two Special Task Force (STF) personnel, and was killed in the ensuing exchange of fire, the officer said. The policemen fired at him “in self-defence”, he added. Kartikeya was rushed to the hospital, where he was declared dead by the doctors, the ADG said. Kartikeya, Ankur and Shravan were arrested following a late-night encounter in Faridabad on Wednesday.