Notorious UP gangster Vikas Dubey killed in encounter

Ujjain/Kanpur, July 10: Most wanted notorious gangster Vikas Dubey of UP, who was responsible for the death of 8 policemen, was killed in an encounter with the STF early Friday morning following an accident to the vehicle that was taking him to Kanpur from Ujjain.

Vikas Dubey, who was avoiding the police for the last six days, was finally arrested by Ujjain police on Thursday from the famous Mahakal Temple after he was spotted by a flower vendor who intimated the cops. Later, he was handed over to the Uttar Pradesh STF that took him to Kanpur by car.

The vehicle met with an accident on way on Friday morning and taking advantage of the chaotic situation Vikas Dubey snatched a gun and tried to escape, police said. He was shot dead by the STF men accompanying him.

The car carrying the criminal overturned on the highway due to heavy rain when he was taken to Kanpur from Ujjain. Local people heard the gunshots as the cops fired at the fleeing criminal, a news agency reported.

Vikas Dubey had over 60 criminal cases against him, including murder, kidnapping, and extortion.

In a statement, the police said they had tried to make Vikas Dubey surrender but he fired at them. “The car overturned and policemen and the accused were injured. Then Vikas Dubey snatched a gun from an injured policeman and ran. The police team caught up and surrounded him and tried to get him to surrender, but he refused to and started firing. The police had to fire back in self-defense,” the Kanpur police said in a statement.

STF officials said there was an encounter as Vikas Dubey tried to escape when the vehicle overturned early in the morning amid heavy rains.

They said Vikas Dubey snatched a weapon from one of the policemen after the accident. He then ran to a nearby field and was asked to surrender, which he refused to do, they added.

Meanwhile, politics has taken a front seat over this killing with the Samajwadi Party President and formeNotorious UP gangster Vikas Dubey killed in encounter UP Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav questioning the UP government after the killing of the criminal.

Akhilesh Yadav posted his comment on Twitter without directly referring to Dubey.

“The car hasn’t overturned but the government has been saved from being overturned because of secrets,” he tweeted in Hindi.

Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, in a tweet in Hindi, asked" The criminal has been eliminated but what about those who protection to him and his crimes."

Congress Spokesperson Shama Mohamed tweeted: “Senior police officers say Vikas Dubey could have strategized his arrest to avoid being 'encountered'. It then makes no sense that he tried to flee, Dubey had strong political connections. Was he killed to ensure that he would not reveal their names”.

CPI (ML) leader Dipankar Bhattarchaya called for a judicial probe into the Kanpur shooting.

“Constitutional democracy in India cannot see the Vikas Dubey 'encounter' as the closure of the Kanpur killing of ten policemen. There are too many pressing questions crying out for honest, credible answers. Let there be a judicial probe headed by a sitting judge of the Supreme Court”, he wrote on Twitter.