After an extensive search for 6 days, Vikas Dubey, a gangster who is accused of killing eight policemen including DSP in Kanpur, was arrested from Mahakal temple in Ujjain by the Madhya Pradesh police, on Thursday, 9 July.
The hunt, however, was not easy for the police. It took them the efforts of forty teams of policemen, 150 raids and over 130 hours of search to nab the history-sheeter. The UP police had also put a bounty of Rs 2.5 lakh on him, which was later doubled to Rs 5 lakh.
In the process, 5 close aides of Dubey were reportedly killed in encounters by the UP police.
Dramatic visuals show that after getting arrested on Thursday, Dubey shouted, "Main Vikas Dubey hoon, Kanpur wala”, following which he was slammed against a police van.
As many raise serious questions regarding his arrest, we look at the timeline of the events after the intervening night of 2 and 3 July when policemen from three stations reached Bikaru village to arrest Vikas Dubey and an ensuing shoot-out killed 8 cops.
4 July: Dubey's Accountant, Suspected to Have Helped Him Flee, Arrested
On 4 July, Jay Vajpayi, who is supposedly Dubey's accountant, was arrested from Kanpur. It was being said that Jay Vajpayi has connections with several politicians and police authorities. He owns many properties in India as well as in Dubai and several luxury cars. He was suspected of helping Vikas flee Kanpur.
4 July: Vikas' House Was Demolished by Authorities
On 4 July, Vikas' house was demolished by authorities with the same JCB used by the gangster to stop the police. Along with that, two SUV cars and a tractor were also destroyed.
5 July: Dubey's Servant & Aide Had 'Revealed' He Was Tipped Off
On 5 July, police surrounded Dubey's servant and special aide Dayashankar aka Kallu Agnihotri. Dayashankar was injured due to police firing and allegedly revealed crucial details. He had confessed that Vikas was tipped off about the raid by someone from police station before the police arrived.
7 July: DIG Anant Dev, Head of UP's Special Task Force, Was Transferred
On 7 July, DIG Anant Dev, head of UP's Special Task Force, was transferred. He was accused of not taking action against SO Vinay Tiwari who was allegedly helping Dubey, even though Dev was the SSP at Kanpur.
But who made the complaint? DCP Devendra Mishra, who died in the shoot-out in Kanpur. Along with Anant Dev, three more IPS officers have been transferred.
Vikas Dubey's house comes under the jurisdiction of Chaubeypur police station. The SO and two more constables of Chaubeypur police station were accused of alerting Vikas Dubey about the raid beforehand because of which Dubey could not be taken out, and the policemen lost their lives.
After their suspension, Vinay Tiwari and former station in-charge KK Sharma were taken into custody.
Vikas Dubey's brother-in-law, Raju Khullar, was also taken into custody. Khullar is an accused in the Santosh Shukla murder case.
7 July: Dubey Fled From a Faridabad Hotel That The Police Raided
On 7 July, the police were informed that Vikas Dubey was hiding at a hotel in Faridabad. The police raided the hotel, but Dubey had fled. CCTV visuals showed Dubey wearing a mask.
Three men were also arrested by the police in Faridabad after they raided a house upon receiving inputs regarding the presence of Dubey
8 July: Vikas Dubey's Close Aide Amar Dubey Was Killed
On 8 July, gangster Vikas Dubey's close aide Amar Dubey was killed in a police encounter in Hamirpur. Amar was allegedly a participant of the attack on the police in Kanpur. Two other members of Dubey's gang, Shyamu and Sanjeev, were also arrested.
Two more aides were killed in separate incidents.
Bahua Dubey, who was reportedly with Vikas Dubey during the Kanpur shoot-out and was carrying a reward of Rs 50,000, was killed in an encounter early on 8 July in Etawah, with arms recovered from him, the police said.
Meanwhile, Kartikeya alias Prabhat Mishra succumbed to bullet injuries that he sustained while trying to flee from custody, UP ADG Prashant Kumar was quoted by PTI as saying.
The close aide of Vikas Dubey had tried to flee from police custody while being brought to Kanpur from Faridabad on transit remand, the ADG said, adding that he was injured in the ensuing encounter and then sent to the hospital.
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