In a latest development, Amar Dubey, a close aide of gangster Vikas Dubey, was killed in an encounter with Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force (STF) in Hamirpur earlier on Wednesday.
Amar, a right hand man of Vikas Dubey — who shot dead eight police personnel last Friday — had figured prominently in the list of wanted persons released by the Kanpur police on Tuesday. He was a named accused in the massacre.
The UP Special Task Force (STF) gunned him down in coordination with the local police unit in Hamirpur. There was a reward of Rs 25,000 on him after the sensational and barbaric execution of policemen in Kanpur.
An automatic weapon and a bag was recovered from Amar Dubey’s possession, Hamirpur Suerintendent of Police (SP) Shlok Kumar was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
According to STF sources quoted by IANS, the police team had been tipped off Amar’s presence in the district and when they tried to close in on him, the criminal opened fire on them, He was killed in retaliatory firing around 6.30 am.
Amar was reportedly heading towards the house of one of his relatives in Maudaha area.
“We asked him to surrender but he opened fire at us and was killed when we returned the fire,” said an STF official.
Earlier, he had been hiding in Faridabad but moved out after increased police pressure.
Meanwhile, one Shyamu Bajpai, another aide of Vikas Dubey, who carried a reward of Rs 25,000 on his head, was arrested by Chaubeypur police following an encounter today, ADG Kanpur Zone was quoted as saying by ANI.
Shyamu is the second member of the Dubey gang to be arrested, the first being Daya Shankar Agnihotri.
Three others who have been arrested for helping the gangster include his maid Rekha, a relative Kshama Dubey and Suresh Varma – both of whom were cheering the gangster during the shootout.
Incidentally, reports claim that Vikas Dubey was seen at a hotel in Faridabad near Delhi on Tuesday night but fled before the police could close in on him.
On Tuesday afternoon, one of the two men arrested during raids at a hotel in Faridabad had told the police that Vikas Dubey had left the hotel just before the cops reached. Of the two men who were arrested on Tuesday, Ankur helped Vikas Dubey in hiding and Prabhat is from his village, officials were quoted as saying by NDTV.
The Haryana Police have been put on high alert after reports of sighting of fugitive Vikas Dubey. As per the intelligence reports, Vikas had stayed at in a small-budget hotel located in the populated Badkhal Chowk area under a fake identity.
The police have managed to access a CCTV grab which showed Dubey, donning a dark black shirt, jeans and mask, was present in the hotel.
Another CCTV grab showed he was standing on the roadside with a bag, awaiting a vehicle.
As per the hotel staff, Vikas had identified himself as Ankur, and had escaped the hotel before the police arrived.
A massive manhunt for the gangster is underway in the Delhi-NCR region as well.
Eight Uttar Pradesh Police personnel were shot dead and at least seven others got seriously injured including a civilian when 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-ff form the police station about the impending raid after which he prepared for the attack on cops.
A letter, purportedly written by slain circle officer Devendra Mishra, also mentioned how the Chaubeypur station officer was trying to shield the gangster.
The incident had led to national outrage even as Vikas Dubey remains out of reach of the police.
The Uttar Pradesh Police had said on Tuesday that 40 teams and the STF were hunting for dreaded gangster Vikas Dubey. The state police chief added that the force will not rest until Dubey is nabbed.
Meanwhile, nearly 68 police personnel of the Chaubeypur police station in Kanpur were sent to the lines, late on Tuesday night as doubts about their integrity emerged following the killing of eight policemen in Bikru village.
This came hours after former Kanpur SSP Anant Dev Tiwari, who was posted as DIG STF, was shifted in the same capacity to PAC Moradabad after his role in protecting the station officer of Chaubeypur was found suspicious and his photographs with Jai Bajpai, a Kanpur businessman said to be Dubey’s financer went viral on the social media.
The action against the police personnel was taken after preliminary investigations found that most of the policemen at Chaubeypur were in touch with gangster Vikas Dubey, the main accused in the killing of policemen.
Station officer Vinay Tiwari has already been suspended and three cops have also been placed under suspension after their call detail records confirmed their links with the gangster.
Vikas Dubey has over 60 cases against him, including murder charges. His criminal journey began in 1990 with a case of murder. After this, a number of cases including murder, kidnapping, extortion and rioting were registered against him.
A sensational murder case against Dubey is of Santosh Shukla, a Kanpur BJP leader in 2001.
Vikas Dubey is also named in another high-profile case of Siddheshwar Pandey, the principal of Tarachand Inter College in 2000.