Police outside the house in Bakru village, Kanpur, where the eight personnel were killed. (Photo: Vishal Srivastav)

Two sub-inspectors and a constable of Uttar Pradesh police have been suspended on charges of laxity in connection with the death of eight policemen in Kanpur during a raid to arrest gangster Vikas Dubey last week, PTI reported.

The move came a day after an accomplice of Dubey, identified as Daya Shankar Agnihotri, said that the gangster had received a call from someone in the police department, informing him about the raid to arrest him. Agnihotri, 42, was arrested in a pre-dawn operation on Sunday. Police said he was shot in the leg when he opened fire on a police team and tried to flee on his motorcycle.

“A preliminary inquiry has been initiated against all three policemen, including sub-inspectors Kunwarpal and Krishna Kumar Sharma and constable Rajeev, all posted at the Chaubeypur Police Station,” Kanpur SSP Dinesh Kumar P was quoted as saying by the news agency.

An FIR would also be lodged against the trio who will face further action if their involvement is proved during the course of inquiry, the SSP added.

In a purported video circulated on social media, Agnihotri has said that after receiving the tip-off, Dubey rallied together 25-30 men and prepared them for the attack. He has also said that Dubey was among those who opened fire on the police team.

Agnihotri, however, has said that he was locked inside the house during the raid, and was not among the attackers.

Meanwhile, the reward for the arrest of Dubey was increased to Rs 2.50 lakh, a senior police official said.

“The cash reward for the arrest of Vikas Dubey has been increased to Rs 2.50 lakh by UP Director General of Police H C Awasthy,” Additional Director General Law and Order Prashant Kumar told PTI.

Inspector General Kanpur Range Mohit Agarwal had on Sunday said that the reward for the arrest of Dubey was increased to Rs 1 lakh.