‘Vikas Dubey Encounter Not Fake’: UP Police Submits Report in SC

The UP Police told the court that the encounter was 'correct'.

Vikas Dubey, the accused in the Kanpur shoot-out incident in which 8 cops died, was killed in an alleged police encounter.

(Photo: Altered by The Quint)

The Uttar Pradesh Police on Friday, 17 July, submitted a detailed reply to the Supreme Court in connection with the deaths of Vikas Dubey and his associates, stating that the “encounters” were correct and cannot be termed fake, ANI reported.

The reply by the UP Police came after the Supreme Court on 14 July had allowed Solicitor General Tushar Mehta to file his response to the pleas seeking a probe into the alleged police encounter of Dubey by Monday, 20 July, and listed the matter for hearing on that date.

The court is hearing two petitions filed by lawyers Ghanashyam Upadhyay and Anoop Prakash Awasthi.

The petitions will be heard by the Supreme Court bench led by Chief Justice of India SA Bobde on Monday.

Bobde, in the previous hearing, had also said that the bench might be inclined to appoint a retired Supreme Court judge to look into the matter.

Detailed Response from UP Police

In a bid to answer the many questions and doubts around the alleged encounter of history-sheeter Vikas Dubey on 10 July, UP Police in its detailed response shared their version of the whole episode.

Dubey was prime accused in the murder of eight police personnel in a shoot-out at Kanpur’s Bikaru village on 2 July night.

The affidavit filed on "behalf of the state of Uttar Pradesh", reads, when a police team reached the residence of Dubey on 2 July night, he "brutally massacred eight policemen" and "cut the circle officer's leg after shooting him dead".

As per UP police, Dubey "mutilated" bodies of all 8 policemen.

Talking about his arrest and "encounter" on 9 and 10 July, police says there is "misconception" in various narratives available in the public domain.

Many Opposition leaders had asked if Dubey surrendered in Mahakal temple in MP's Ujjain on the morning of 9 July, to which UP police responded in its affidavit saying, "He had not surrendered. It is being reported wrongly."

He was "identified" by temple authorities and police at the main gate, added police.

On the question of why Dubey was transferred to another vehicle while being taken to Kanpur from MP, police said, it was done for "security and alertness".

Questions were also raised about why media vans were stopped 2 km away from the alleged accident, to which UP police stated that they were not stopped and it was in fact a traffic jam situation due to rains.

"The vehicles of Aaj Tak and Republic TV had immediately reached the accident site, reads the affidavit.

The police's response also touches upon the serious allegations about politican-gangster nexus, and says, "The government of UP has constituted a judicial inquiry commission to inter alia enquire into the alleged collusion of accused and his associate with police and other departments."