UP goon’s henchmen kill 8 cops

DGP says gang had got advance information on police raid As the cops got off from their vehicles, a hail of gunfire caught them by surprise. Though they fought back, 8 cops including a DSP were killed

Kanpur, July 3: Eight police personnel, including a DSP, were gunned down in a village near the city by the henchmen of a criminal who lost two of them in a firefight later, officials said on Friday.

Seven others, including a civilian, were injured in the attack from a rooftop on a police team after it entered Bikru village past Thursday midnight to arrest Vikas Dubey, a history-sheeter who faces about 60 criminal cases.

The attackers fled, snatching weapons from the dead and the wounded policemen. Police then sealed the area and began a combing operation, which led to another encounter with Dubey’s men in Nivada village.

There, police killed Prem Prakash and Atul Dubey, and recovered a snatched pistol. They were looking for the other members of the gang and the rest of the weapons.

Inspector General (Special Task Force) Amitabh Yash claimed that the weapon used in the initial attack was a rifle seized from Dubey by the STF when they arrested him in Lucknow’s Krishna Nagar in 2017.

The rifle was released into the custody of someone else by the court. Police said they will investigate further into this.

Hours after the attack, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath came under flak from the Opposition — including Congress leader Rahul Gandhi — over the law and order situation in the state.

The failed police raid at Bikru followed the registration of another case against Vikas Dubey, who allegedly killed a senior BJP leader in 2001. This time Rahul Tiwari of Jadepur Gharsa had lodged an FIR at Chaubeypur police station against Dubey and four other, accusing them of an attempt to murder.

UP director-general of police H.C. Awasthi said the criminals might have got an inkling of the raid. Dubey’s henchmen put up roadblocks to stop policemen from reaching their hideout. As they got off from their vehicles at one hurdle, a hail of gunfire caught them by surprise. Policemen fired back but Deputy Superintendent of Police Devendra Mishra, three sub-inspectors and four constables died, officials said.