“Main Vikas Dubey hoon, Kanpur wala. (I am Vikas Dubey, the one from Kanpur),” roars the pot bellied man in a white striped full sleeve tee shirt, just before a policeman swats him on the head as if he is a teenager speaking out of turn then pins him on the side of a white car, before he is taken away. The arrested man does not resist much. Actually he does not have to as there is no force, or struggle at all after he walks out of the temple compound, barefeet. The news agency ANI has shared this video clip on twitter where it has been viewed hundreds of times.
#WATCH Madhya Pradesh: After arrest in Ujjain, Vikas Dubey confesses, “Main Vikas Dubey hoon, Kanpur wala.” #KanpurEncounter pic.twitter.com/bIPaqy2r9d
— ANI (@ANI) July 9, 2020
Vikas Dubey, is now best described as the most wanted gangster from Uttar Pradesh, who is a wanted criminal most recently in connection with the horrific attack in Kanpur where eight policemen were killed. After almost a week of a massive manhunt Dubey was arrested from the Mahakal Temple in Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh. According to media reports, Dubey is accused in at least 60 criminal cases, that include murder. A police team had gone to Bikru village, near Kanpur city on July 2, to arrest Dubey, when it came under massive fire. The 20 policemen were caught unawares in what appeared to be a planned ambush and were hit with a hail of bullets fired from rooftops. Eight police personnel, including a deputy superintendent of police and three sub-inspectors, were killed that day, and many others injured.
Dubey, who also claims political connections, has been on the run since then with UP police giving chase. Rumours flew fast and thick about ‘Dubey sightings’ in various cities in north India, before he surfaced at the Mahakal Temple Thursday in Madhya Pradesh. He was apparently on a VIP darshan, before he ‘surrendered’ to the police.
Sounds almost like a masala laced gangster movie that Bollywood churns out regularly. Dubey had smoothly managed to cross three state borders, travel in a car with a UP number plate, which according to a report in Amar Ujala had the word ‘magistrate’ written on it. This raises the important question: Why was this car not intercepted at any police post, or toll gate even as the country is still under Covid-19 protocol and a large number of police detail is on patrol duty across the country, especially in areas which are containment zones. Dubey was not in disguise and the photos posted after his arrest show him even without a mandatory face mask.
Unchecked by the police of three states he drove through, Dubey easily reached the Mahakal temple, itself a high security zone, where he bought a VIP darshan ticket for Rs 250. According to information shared by journalists, it was a guard at the temple who recognised Vikas Dubey stopped him and called the police. The next question to be asked here is, the wanted criminal waited patiently for police to arrest him?
For those who have been to Mahakal would know – u can pay Rs 250 for a VIP Darshan (much shorter queue) at the temple. Vikas Dubey paid the same & went for the Darshan inside, the guard on duty Lakhan Yadav recognised him and Dubey was stopped on the way out and police was called
— Aman Sharma (@AmanKayamHai_ET) July 9, 2020
He will now be brought back to Uttar Pradesh on a transit remand. News reports quote ADG, Law and Order Prashant Kumar saying, “Our campaign against all those involved in the Kanpur case will continue till not even a single member of the Dubey gang is left.”
However, his surrender, and subsequent arrest are not being seen as an ‘achievement’ for Uttar Pradesh police by those who have been following the case. As journalist Ankit Tyagi said, “Let nobody be fooled by the successful arrest claims of #VikasDubey by MP Police. This was a planned surrender, while the clueless UP Police was searching Tv studios. Dubey travelled 6 days, hundreds of Kms across 3 BJP ruled states. You embarrassed your fallen Comrades #UPPolice”
Let nobody be fooled by the successful arrest claims of #VikasDubey by MP Police. This was a planned surrender, while the clueless UP Police was searching Tv studios. Dubey travelled 6 days, hundreds of Kms across 3 BJP ruled states. You embarrassed your fallen Comrades #UPPolice pic.twitter.com/NZv96BcFmH
— Ankit Tyagi (@Ankit_Tyagi01) July 9, 2020
Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has also raised questions and blamed the UP government for the way the case has been handled so far. “After the brutal massacre of Kanpur, UP government failed to work with the alacrity they should have. The way in which the accused reached Ujjain despite an alert not just exposes false claims of security but also points to a nexus,” Priyanka Gandhi tweeted, adding “… No action on the three-month-old letter and the absence of ‘Vikas’ in the list of notorious criminals suggests that the wires in this case are connected. The UP government should conduct a CBI inquiry into the matter and reveal all the facts and concerns of the protection.”
… तीन महीने पुराने पत्र पर ‘नो एक्शन’ और कुख्यात अपराधियों की सूची में ‘विकास’ का नाम न होना बताता है कि इस मामले के तार दूर तक जुड़े हैं।
यूपी सरकार को मामले की CBI जांच करा सभी तथ्यों और प्रोटेक्शन के ताल्लुकातों को जगज़ाहिर करना चाहिए। 2/2
— Priyanka Gandhi Vadra (@priyankagandhi) July 9, 2020
As reported by NDTV other important questions raised are: Where was Dubey hiding all these days? And how did he manage to travel 700 km by road from Faridabad in Haryana, through Rajasthan’s Kota to Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh in a car with a UP number plate?
“We had caught many of his associates and a few were killed. So definitely he was trying to save his life and on the run,” said Mohit Aggarwal, Inspector General, Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh, when asked how he was caught in Ujjain, far from the places where he was being searched.
As quoted by NDTV, Amitabh Thakur, an Indian Police Service (IPS) officer posted in UP said, “We could not arrest Vikas Dubey and he surrendered in Ujjain. We could not arrest him even after such a huge incident and he kept travelling around. This should be investigated.”
Meanwhile, Madhya Pradesh home minister Narottam Mishra asserted that Vikas Dubey was arrested, he did not surrender. “He entered Madhya Pradesh via Rajasthan’s Kota in a car with two aides, Bittu and Suresh. He used a fake ID with the last name ‘Paul’,” said the NDTV report.