In yet another explanation amid questions over the encounter of dreaded gangster Vikas Dubey, UP Special Task Force (STF) has now claimed that a herd of cows and buffaloes suddenly appeared before the vehicle that was bringing the criminal to Kanpur and this caused the accident, following which he tried to escape but was shot dead.

“The herd of cows, buffaloes suddenly came in front of the vehicle and the driver swerved the vehicle causing it to overturn,” said a statement released by the UP STF on Friday evening.

Vikas Dubey was shot dead on Friday morning as he was being brought to Kanpur from Madhya Pradesh’s Ujjain.

The police had earlier said that the vehicle in which Dubey was being taken, one of the three in the convoy, overturned after skidding off the road due to heavy rain following which the gangster allegedly snatched a pistol from an injured cop and attempted to flee. The rest of the police team caught up with him and ordered him to surrender; but he refused and opened fire at the policemen inviting retaliatory action in which he got killed.

Five cops — Inspector Ramakant Pachauri, Sub Inspectors Pankaj Singh, and Anup Singh, constables Satyavir and Pradeep Kumar — received serious injuries in the accident, the police stated.

The gangster, who had been absconding since the shootout on July 3, was arrested from Mahakaal Mandir in Madhya Pradesh’s Ujjain on Thursday morning and handed over to the Uttar Pradesh.

In one of the most sensational and barbaric incident, eight Uttar Pradesh Police personnel were shot dead and at least seven others seriously injured including a civilian as they went to arrest local criminal Vikas Dubey and his gang in the wee hours of July 3.

The incident had led to national outrage.

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

Meanwhile, hours after his encounter, his body was cremated at the Bhairon Ghat in Kanpur on Friday.

It is learnt that the police had brought Dubey’s wife and son to perform the last rites. However, his mother reportedly refused to go to Kanpur or claim her son’s body for the last rites.

Five members of the Vikas Dubey gang have also been killed in police encounters over the past seven days.