Gangster Dubey nabbed in Ujjain
Uttar Pradesh gangster Vikas Dubey, on the run after allegedly killing eight policemen at Bikru in Kanpur district on July 2, was arrested on Thursday at Ujjain’s famous Mahakal temple in true “filmi” style as he tried to intimidate the police by flaunting his identity. He “dared” the police to arrest him, saying “Main Vikas Dubey, Kanpurwala”, as he was being interrogated at the shrine’s police outpost.
Ruby Yadav, platoon commander of the police team deployed at the temple, said a flower seller first alerted a police informer about Dubey’s presence at the temple, who in turn drew the attention of a security guard, Dharmendra Parmar, who informed her.
“I asked him to keep vigil on him (Vikas) and informed the Ujjain SP, who rushed a police team to arrest him.”
She said Dubey first identified himself as Shubham to securitymen, and produced a fake identity card in the name of Navin Paul, which raised their suspicions. He was then taken to the temple’s police outpost for questioning but became violent and attacked two policemen.
The police later found he came to the temple around 7 am in a car after taking a bath at the nearby Sipra river. He asked a flower seller about where to get an entry pass. “I identified him when he took off
his face mask and alerted the police,” flower seller Suresh Kahar told reporters.
Dubey was taken to an undisclosed place for interrogation by the police before being produced via video conferencing before a local court, which granted his transit remand to UP special task force.
Two people who may have arranged his stay in Ujjain were detained for interrogation, while two others who accompanied him were arrested.
Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan told Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath about the gangster’s arrest.
The gangster’s arrest came hours after two of Dubey’s accomplices were gunned down by the Uttar Pradesh police in two separate encounters.
Prabhat, who was arrested in Faridabad on Wednesday, snatched a pistol from a policeman and tried to escape while being brought back to Kanpur, additional DGP Prashant Kumar said. Two special task force personnel were injured and Prabhat killed in the firing, the officer said.
Another of his accomplices, Praveen, alias Bauwa Dubey, was killed in an encounter in Etawah early on Thursday morning. He had a reward of Rs 50,000 for information leading to his arrest, SP Akash Tomar said.
Meanwhile, the gangster’s mother, Sarla Devi, said in Lucknow it was up to the government to decide what to do with Vikas Dubey. Asked about her son’s political links, she said he was not with the BJP now, but with the Samajwadi Party. Both BJP and SP spokespersons have denied that their parties had any connection with the gangster, who allegedly killed a BJP leader at a police station two decades ago.