The Uttar Pradesh Police on Sunday arrested Dayashankar Agnihotri, an aide of gangster Vikas Dubey, whose gang is accused of killing eight policemen in Kanpur on Friday, NDTV reported. Agnihotri told the police that Dubey was informed about the plans for a raid by someone from the police station. Chaubepur Police Station head Vinay Tiwari has been suspended and is being questioned.
“He [Vikas Dubey] received a phone call from the police station before police came to arrest him,” Agnihotri said. “Following this, he called around 25-30 people [and they] fired bullets on police.”
A deputy superintendent of police, three sub inspectors and four constables were shot dead while trying to arrest Dubey, who has 60 criminal cases against him. The encounter happened in Bikru village in Kanpur on the intervening night of July 2 and July 3. Four others were critically injured.
“The entire staff of the Chaubepur police station is under scanner,” Inspector General of Police (Kanpur Range) Mohit Agarwal told NDTV. “Strict action will be taken if someone is found guilty of spying for the mafia. I was locked inside the house at the time of encounter, therefore, saw nothing.”
The police had conducted a raid at Dubey’s house after a resident named Rahul Tiwari told them that Dubey had attempted to murder him. It has also been alleged that when Rahul Tiwari approached Vinay Tiwari, he refused to file a case against Dubey. Rahul Tiwari then approached Deputy Superintendent of Police Devendra Mishra, who helped him register a first information report.
Meanwhile, data recovered from Dubey’s phone listed the names of 20 police officers. At least two of them were were in constant contact with him.
When the raid on Dubey’s house began, Vinay Tiwari was the first to leave, triggering suspicion. Kanpur police chief Dinesh Kumar told reporters that the police team was ambushed and the firing came from three sides, which meant that it was “totally planned”. Mishra was one of the eight policemen killed by the gang. The police killed Prem Prakash, one of the members of Dubey’s gang.
The Kanpur district administration on Saturday demolished Dubey’s house. Police officer Mohit Agarwal said the local residents told them that the house was built on illegally occupied land and Dubey was carrying out criminal activities from there. Twenty-five police teams are on the lookout for Dubey.
Opposition leaders had hit out at the Bharatiya Janata Party government in Uttar Pradesh on Saturday over the law and order situation in the state. Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also accused the BJP of having links with criminals in the state. The party said that it will launch an online campaign against the deteriorating law and order situation in Uttar Pradesh on Sunday.
Chief Minister Adityanath on Saturday called a meeting of top police officers to discuss the law and order situation in the state after the Kanpur encounter.
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