Hindustan Times (Chandigarh)

Kanpur gangster’s

- Haidar Naqvi

KANPUR: Officials on Saturday razed the house of a dreaded criminal whose accomplice­s have shot dead eight policemen and suspended a sub-inspector who is under the scanner after the failed raid in a village in Kanpur Dehat district.

For the demolition drive, the Kanpur district administra­tion used the same earthmover machine that criminals used to block police vehicles arriving Bikru village, 45km from the district headquarte­rs, on Thursday night for a raid against gangster Vikas Dubey, 48.

Dubey’s men sprayed a volley of bullets on the policemen from the roofs of his house and structures nearby after they got off their vehicles, killing a deputy superinten­dent, three sub-inspectors and four constables in an ambush that the police said termed a “well-planned conspiracy”. The criminals looted their weapons and escaped in the dark.

Kanpur inspector general Mohit Agarwal said the fortified one-storey house, built in 2013 over four bighas in the middle of the village, was a “hub of criminals”. The palatial house had a 12-foot boundary wall protected by barbed wire. “Most of the villagers have said that he [Dubey] grabbed people’s land using muscle power, and built his house. He used to extort money from people,” Agarwal said.

He said the police were gathering details of Dubey’s other properties, including benami ones. “Dubey will be arrested soon,” Agarwal added.

Two SUVS parked in Dubey’s garage were taken out and destroyed along with two tractors parked in the courtyard. The demolition began early morning amidst heavy police presence.

Dubey’s father, Ram Kumar, was living in the house. He was taken to Lucknow. Dubey’s wife lives in Gomti Nagar, Lucknow, with their younger son. The older son is studying in the UK.

After the shootout, Dubey could have taken away the digital video recorder (DVR), which stored the feed from CCTV cameras

 ?? PTI ?? An earthmover removes the mangled remains of a car during the demolition of Vikay Dubey’s residence in Kanpur Dehat district.
PTI An earthmover removes the mangled remains of a car during the demolition of Vikay Dubey’s residence in Kanpur Dehat district.

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