4.7.20

Kanpur: 8 cops killed in ambush by gangsters

Eight police personnel, including a DSP, were gunned down in a village near Kanpur by the henchmen of a criminal, two of whom were killed in an encounter later.

Seven others, including a civilian, were injured after they were ambushed from three sides as criminals fired at them from rooftops. The team had gone to Bikru village past Thursday midnight to arrest Vikas Dubey, a history-sheeter who faces about 60 criminal cases.

The attackers fled, snatching weapons from the dead and the wounded policemen.

Police then sealed the entire area and began a combing operation, which led to another encounter with Dubey’s men in Nivada village. There, police killed Prem Prakash and Atul Dubey, and recovered a snatched pistol.

They were looking for the other members of the gang and the rest of the weapons. The snatched weapons included an AK-47 rifle, an INSAS rifle, a Glock pistol and two .9mm pistols, a police spokesman said.

Inspector General (Special Task Force) Amitabh Yash claimed that the weapon used in the initial attack was a rifle seized from Dubey by the STF when they arrested him in Lucknow’s Krishna Nagar in 2017.

The automatic rifle was released into the custody of someone else by the court. Police said they will investigate further into this.

Hours after the attack, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath came under flak from the opposition – including Congress leader Rahul Gandhi – over the law and order situation in the state.

The failed police raid at Bikru followed the registration of another case against Vikas Dubey, who allegedly killed a senior BJP leader in 2001.

Uttar Pradesh Director General of Police H C Awasthi said the criminals might have been tipped off about the raid as they had also put up roadblocks to stop policemen from reaching their hideout. As they got off from their vehicles at one hurdle, a hail of gunfire caught them by surprise.

Policemen fired back but Deputy Superintendent of Police Devendra Mishra, three sub-inspectors and four constables died, officials said.

Additional Director General (Law and Order), Inspector General (Kanpur) and the Senior Superintendent of Police (Kanpur) rushed to the spot after learning about the attack.

Besides Deputy SP Devendra Mishra, who was posted as the circle officer in Bilhaur, others killed in the attack were sub inspectors Mahesh Chandra Yadav, Anup Kumar Singh and Nebu Lal, and constables Jitendra Pal, Sultan Singh, Bablu Kumar and Rahul Kumar.

Two sub inspectors, three constables, a home guard and a civilian were injured.

Dubey already carries a reward of Rs 25,000 for his arrest. 

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