The Uttar Pradesh police killed Vikas Dubey in an encounter in the morning of July 10 ending days of drama around the capture of the elusive gangster. Dubey had been on the run since killing eight police personnel near Kanpur on July 3. Dubey, a notorious gangster had his base in Bikru village near Kanpur and reportedly had 62 cases registered in his name including five cases of murder. He was arrested in Ujjain after being spotted at the Mahakal Temple.
Here's a timeline until Dubey's encounter
The Ambush
On July 3, eight personnel of the Kanpur police were killed during a raid to arrest Vikas Dubey on charges of attempted murder. The eight dead included Deputy Superintendent of Police Devendra Kumar Mishra, sub inspectors Mahesh Chandra Yadav, Anup Kumar Singh and Nebu Lal and constables Jitendra Pal, Sultan Singh, Babloo Kumar and Rahul Kumar.
Uttar Pradesh DGP Hitesh Chandra Awasthy told The Indian Express that a 20-member police team had gone to arrest Dubey at midnight near Chaubeypur when their path was blocked by a JCB machine. "When the policemen got down from their vehicles, the assailants opened fire. There was retaliatory fire from our side, but as the assailants were standing in the dark and were at a height, our policemen suffered bullet injuries. Eight of our policemen were martyred," Awasthy said.
Police later killed two associates of Dubey during a combing operation and recovered a service pistol and a country-made pistol from the duo. Dubey could not be captured.
The Aftermath
A day after the ambush, the UP Police suspended Vinay Tiwari, the station officer of the Chaubeypur police station following allegations that he had tipped off Dubey about the impending raid. Police razed Dubey's house and destroyed his vehicles.
On July 5, police apprehend Dubey's accomplice Daya Shankar Agnihotri in an operation. Agnihotri was shot in the leg and captured. Speaking to a reporter while in the hospital, Agnihotri alleged that Dubey received a call from the police station about the raid which allowed him to set up the ambush. The government announced a reward of Rs 1 lakh for Dubey's capture.
Three other police personnel were suspended on July 6 for their allegedly tipping of Dubey. The police also increased the bounty for Dubey's capture to Rs 2.5 lakh. On Jul 8, police arrested Tiwari and another sub inspector KK Singh for tipping of Dubey. Furthermore, all 68 personnel posted at the Chaubeypur station were sent to the police lines.
"We have made the arrests after a lot of evidence collection. If anyone attacks the police or prevents us from working or conspires to get a policeman attacked, we will take action even if it is a fellow cop," Kanpur police chief Dinesh Kumar was quoted as saying by NDTV.
The UP government also removed DIG Anant Deo after a letter purportedly written by the slain DSP Devendra Mishra in mArch surfaced where the latter complained about Vinay Tiwari's conduct. In his letter to the then Special Task Force Deputy Inspector General of Police (STF DIG) Deo, DSP Mishra alleged that Tiwari had diluted the charges against Dubey in a case. Deo has been transferred to Provincial Armed Constabulary, Moradabad.
Meanwhile, Dubey managed to slip past police checkpoints and made his way to Faridabad according to a Hindustan Times report. Dubey was reportedly spotted in a hotel but managed to escape before police could show up. The UP police shot dead Dubey's accomplice Amar Dubey in Hamirpur and six other were arrested in separate raids.
Two of Dubey's associates were gunned down in separate incidents on July 9 after allegedly trying to escape police custody. According to a Hindustan Times report, Praveen Dubey was killed after he tried to escape in Etawah, UP. Prabhat Mishra, who was arrested in the Faridabad raid, was killed after trying to escape while he was being brough to Kanpur.
"The police personnel were changing the tyre of escort vehicles as it got punctured near Panki on way to Kanpur. Mishra tried to escape and was shot down," ADG (Law and Order), Prashant Kumar told Hindustan Times.
The Arrest
On July 9, Dubey was arrested by Ujjain police after he was spotted by private security personnel at the Ujjain Mahakal Temple. According to a Times of India report, a shopkeeper at the temple recognised Dubey and informed the security at the temple who informed the police.
Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Narottam Mishra said that Dubey arrived in Ujjain from Kota along with two accomplices. Dubey was handed over to a team of UP Special Task Force in the evening who immediately left for Kanpur.
PTI reported that Dubey's wife Richa, their son and a domestic help were arrested from their residence in Lucknow. "Vikas Dubey's wife is being questioned to elicit information about the facts relating to the events involving ambush of the police team in Kanpur," a police spokesman said.
The Encounter
In the morning of July 10, Dubey was shot dead by police after allegedly trying to escape. According to Kanpur Assistant Superintendent of Police Dr Anil Kumar, the car ferrying Dubey met with an accident near Kanpur and overturned. Police said that Dubey managed to escape with a service pistol.
Despite being asked to surrender, Dubey allegedly refused and shot at two police officers. Police shot back and injured Dubey and rushed him to LLR Hospital in Kanpur where he was pronounced dead.
However, many doubts have been raised about the alleged encounter. The car which met with the accident was of a different brand than the one in which Dubey was earlier pictured in.
Locals also questioned the police's version of the accident. NDTV reported that eyewitnesses heard gunshots but did not mention any accident. Locals were also asked to leave the site of the accident by police.
ANI reported that media persons following Dubey from Ujjain were stopped by police in Sachendi near Kanpur.
The UP STF in a press release stated that a herd of cattle came running on to the highway due to which the driver swerved the car resulting in the car overturning.