Kanpur ambush: SIT probing police's 'connivance' with Vikas Dubey visits Bikru village

Uttar Pradesh additional chief secretary Sanjay Bhoosreddy, who is heading the special investigation team probing the local police's alleged connivance with slain gangster Vikas Dubey, on Sunday visited Bikru village near Kanpur where eight policemen were ambushed by the henchmen of the gangster.

Bhoosreddy was accompanied by additional DG Hariram Sharma and DIG J Ravindra Gaud who are part of the SIT. The team which arrived here early Sunday will also probe the role of Dubey's sympathisers and political patronisers, said an official.

According to the official, the SIT reached Bikru village where they inspected the site of the ambush to get an idea about how the policemen including a deputy SP walked into the trap set by Dubey falling to a shower of bullets fired from rooftops, the official added.

The SIT also gathered information from the district magistrate (DM) and senior superintendent of police (SSP) about Dubey's rise and the cases against him apart from post ambush actions, official said.

They also asked the DM and SSP to explain as to why no process was initiated to cancel the gangster's bail in earlier cases lodged against him and the arms licenses issued to Dubey's henchmen.

"The SIT will probe how despite being involved in several criminal cases, the gang members could manage to get arms licenses,” another official said.

The SIT took a round of the village and interacted with the locals whom they persuaded to come forward and share information about Dubey's terror and illegal activities apart from his political patronage.

The officials also asked the villagers to apprise them about their complaints against Dubey and his associates if they had failed to it so far.

The Uttar Pradesh government had constituted the SIT on Saturday. It will submit its report by July 31 after looking into all the angles, studying all related documents and spot inspection in Kanpur, according to an official statement.

The team has been asked to probe into what effective action was taken in all the cases lodged against Dubey, the statement said.

The SIT will also probe the action taken to cancel the bail of "such a dreaded criminal", what action has been taken against him under the Goonda Act, the National Security Act, Gangsters Act, and if there was any laxity and at what level, it added.

On July 3, eight police personnel, including a DSP, were gunned down in Bikru village by the henchmen of Dubey.

Seven others, including a civilian, were injured in the attack from a rooftop after the police team entered the village past Thursday (July 2) midnight to arrest Dubey.

Dubey was killed in an encounter on Friday after a police vehicle carrying him from Ujjain to Kanpur met with an accident and he tried to escape from the spot in Bhauti area, police said.