A 15-minute nightmare in UP

Vikas Dubey, the gangster under the spotlight after the killing of eight cops by his men, faces 60 cases and has influence in Kanpur region

KANPUR/LUCKNOW: The criminal records of Vikas Dubey, one of the most dreaded gangsters in Uttar Pradesh, date back to 1993, according to a senior police official at the DGP headquarters in Lucknow. At 48, he faces 60 criminal cases.

“His crime record reads that he has had over 11 cases of attempt to murder and six cases of murder,” the official said.

He said Dubey, born in Bikru village of Kanpur Dehat district, was popular among criminals in the region who believed the police could not act against them if they were under his protection. “He recruited youngsters, invested on them by giving them a monthly payment and pushed them into crime...”

Dubey was an accused in the 2001 murder of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Santosh Shukla inside a police station. “He was acquitted in the case after all witnesses, including police personnel, turned hostile during the court trial due to his fear,” the official said.

He said Dubey’s name terrorised people in Shivli, a town near Bikru, and the region around Kanpur after four sensational murders — that of Shukla, a college principal, and a cable operator and his cousin between 2000 and 2002. Dubey was arrested a couple of times in the past two years, but got bail.

The official said Dubey’s clout increased so much in the region that he won the election of zila panchayat member in 2005 as an independent while he was in the Kanpur jail.

After Thursday’s ambush, about 3,000 members were combing several districts in Uttar Pradesh to arrest Dubey, whose accomplices shot dead eight policemen in Bikru before escaping in the dark.

The operation to catch Bikru was being led by director general of police (DGP) HC Awasthy; additional DGP (law and order) Prashant Kumar; and Uttar Pradesh special task force (STF) inspector general (IG) Amitabh Yash. The police sealed borders of all six districts in the region, namely Kanpur, Kanpur Dehat, Auraiya, Kannauj, Etawah and Farrukhabad. Additional DGP Kumar said the attack was the deadliest targeting the police force in “many years”. In 2007, dacoit Ambika Prasad, alias Thokia, killed six policemen and an informer in Chitrakoot to avenge the death of brigand Shiv Kumar Dadua.

Additional director general (ADG), Kanpur Zone, Jai Narain Singh alerted adjoining districts such as Unnao, Aurraiya, Fatehpur and Lucknow, suspecting that the criminals could try to take shelter in these places. The site of the ambush is 110 km from Lucknow

In state capital Lucknow, a police force raided Dubey’s house in Krishna Nagar area — from where he was arrested by the special task force in October 2017. The police said the house was found locked, and his wife and two children, who lived there, were not there. The house was later sealed.

Deepak Kumar Singh, assistant commissioner of police (ACP) of Sarojininagar, said a police team visited Dubey’s brother’s residence in the same locality, but he too was not at home.

“...I knew that one day the entire family would have to suffer for the wrongdoings of Vikas,” Sarla Devi, 73, who stays with Dubey’s younger brother, told reporters outside her residence.

She said she would have no regrets if Dubey were shot dead. Devi said Dubey’s relationship with the family was under strain, and added that Dubey did not come to Lucknow since the Covid-19 lockdown was imposed in March-end.

UTTAR PRADESH

Bikru village