As Uttar Pradesh’s most wanted gangster and the main accused in the killing of eight policemen last week, Vikas Dubey was shot dead on Friday morning as he was being brought to Kanpur from Madhya Pradesh’s Ujjain, The opposition parties on Friday slammed the Yogi Adityanath-led Uttar Pradesh government over the encounter.

Former Chief Minister and Samajwadi Party Chief Akhilesh Yadav took to twitter and wrote(in Hindi), “Actually, his car did not overturn, but the government has been saved from turning over the secret.”

दरअसल ये कार नहीं पलटी है, राज़ खुलने से सरकार पलटने से बचाई गयी है.

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— Akhilesh Yadav (@yadavakhilesh) July 10, 2020

His remarks came soon after Dubey died on Friday morning after being critically injured in an alleged shootout with the STF officials on Friday morning near Kanpur.

Meanwhile, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi also questioned the encounter. She said in a tweet, “Criminal has died, but what about crime and those who protect criminals?”

अपराधी का अंत हो गया, अपराध और उसको सरंक्षण देने वाले लोगों का क्या?

— Priyanka Gandhi Vadra (@priyankagandhi) July 10, 2020

Dubey, who had been absconding since the shootout, was arrested from Mahakaal Mandir in Madhya Pradesh’s Ujjain on Thursday morning.

The incident happened after one of the cars in the police convoy overturned. The police allegedly fired at Dubey after he attempted to flee the scene.

Dubey was taken to the emergency ward of the Hallett Hospital. Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Kanpur Dinesh Kumar said that the doctors have confirmed the death of Vikas Dubey.

Shiv Sena’s Priyanka Chaturvedi also took to twitter and reacted on the Dubey encounter saying, “If the root is destroyed there will be no cause for worry”

न रहेगा बाँस, न बजेगी बाँसुरी#VikasDubey

— Priyanka Chaturvedi (@priyankac19) July 10, 2020

Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) leader Jayant Chaudhary also slammed the BJP government over the “encounter rule” in the state and urged all the judges to resign. “After Vikas Dubey’s encounter, all the judges of the country should resign. There is no need of court in BJP’s encounter rule,” Chaudhary said in a series of tweets.

“All this drama has been created to save the real culprits of killing eight policemen,” the RLD leader said in another tweet.

Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader and Rajya Sabha MP Manoj Kumar Jha also criticised the Uttar Pradesh government over the encounter saying the “black truth” of the entire “syndicate” has also been “encountered” along with Dubey.

“If the news of the Vikas Dubey death in the encounter is true, then accept that the black truth of the entire syndicate has also been encountered. The system has saved itself from being naked. How the story is so simple from yesterday’s visuals of Mahakal temple to the story till today morning. Proceed with this as the final truth (sic),” Jha tweeted.

According to reports, as the convoy bringing Dubey from Madhya Pradesh’s Ujjain reached the Bhauti area under the Barra police circle in Kanpur on Friday morning, the vehicle in which Vikas was seated, overturned after skidding on the road due to heavy rain.

Dubey, along with two other police personnel in the vehicle, was injured in the accident. As soon as the gangster was taken out of the vehicle, he allegedly snatched a pistol from the STF team and tried to fire at the police. He was fatally injured in retaliatory firing. Dubey received a bullet injury in the chest which proved fatal. Five members of the Dubey gang have been killed in police encounters over the past seven days.

The hunt for Dubey and his aides started off after eight Uttar Pradesh Police personnel were shot dead and at least seven others were seriously injured including a civilian as they went to arrest local criminal Vikas Dubey and his gang in the wee hours of July 3.

Gangster Dubey was allegedly was informed about the raid beforehand. It is said that Vikas Dubey had received a tip-off from the police station about the impending raid after which he prepared for the attack on cops.

This, incidentally, was one of the biggest attacks on a police team in the state in recent years and had sent shock waves in the state.