Dubey had 22-yr-old feud with slain officer

LUCKNOW: GANGSTER Vikas Dubey, who was gunned down by the police on Friday, had a long-running feud with deputy superintendent Devendra Mishra, one of the eight officials ambushed by Dubey’s men in Bikru village near Kanpur city, according to a person involved in the investigation into the July 3 attack on the policemen.

“The seeds of their rivalry were sown almost 22 year ago when Devendra Mishra was a head constable. Over the years, Mishra rose to the rank of deputy SP,” a Kanpur police inspector said after interacting with Mishra’s family members on Saturday, requesting anonymity.

“It was not the first time that Vikas Dubey opened fire on Devendra Mishra. He did a similar act when Mishra was posted as head constable at Kalyanpur police station [close to Bikru village] in December 1998. Mishra survived and opened fire in retaliation, but he missed the target. Dubey was arrested after a scuffle with police,” said the inspector.

The inspector said records revealed that one Hari Mohan Singh was in-charge of the Kalyanpur police station in Kanpur at that time. In the 1998 firing, Dubey targeted Singh as well. Singh was under political pressure to release Dubey, but eventually the criminal was booked in two separate cases under narcotics act and the arms act. Later, a case was filed under the Gangster Act. These cases are still pending.

Mishra was transferred from Kalyanpur after he was promoted to the rank of sub-inspector, and was posted in different police stations in Kanpur and districts. Mishra got promoted as an inspector in 2007 and as a deputy SP in 2016, the inspector said. He returned to Kanpur and took charge as the Bilhaur circle officer some time ago, he added.

He said Mishra was aware of Dubey’s history and was going tough on him and his aides.

“The CO got two criminals cases registered against Dubey for extortion, murder and kidnapping since March 13 this year,” the inspector said.

Dubey wanted to settle scores with Mishra, the inspector said.