Kanpur encounter: Will send back cops in coffins, Dubey had told gang

KANPUR: The pre-dawn encounter of an aide of the elusive gangster Vikas Dubey and his confessions to police during interrogation have blown the lid off moles in the police machinery, who tipped off the don about the midnight raid and even called Chaubeypur power station to enforce a blackout in the village, just 10 minutes before the police party walked into the ambush in pitch darkness. Dubey’s lieutenant Dayashankar Agnihotri was nabbed after a brief exchange of fire with police on the outskirts of Kanpur early Sunday.
In a video, widely shared on social media, Agnihotri is heard admitting to STF personnel that Vikas received a call on his mobile from the local police station about the impending raid, allowing the gangster enough time to mobilise 60 men, position snipers on rooftops and launch a guerrilla-style strike on the police team.
“At around 8 pm on Thursday, Dubey received a call from the Chaubeypur thana about his imminent arrest and movement of three police teams in next five hours,” said Agnihotri. He also said, after receiving the tipoff, the don ordered his gang to pull up their bootstraps and get ready for battle, while swearing “let the police come, they will go home in their coffins.”
He, however, could not divulge information on who assisted the don in hammering out the ambush plan in his fortified palace, saying he was not present in the master control room of the house.
To a query on how Dubey managed to kill so many of policemen, he said, “The gang members were trained and well-equipped with arms and ammunition and had taken up position at rooftops.”
Agnihotri also told investigators that only villagers or panchayat members had access to Vikas’ fortified house in Bikru village. “He would meet outsiders at an orchard in the village outskirts,” he said.
Inspector General (IG), Kanpur Range, Mohit Agarwal told reporters that the entire staff of Chaubeypur police station was on the radar. “The way Dubey and his aides were aware of minutest details of police movement points to moles in the force.”
STF procured call detail report (CDR) of all cops deployed at Chaubeypur police station. A sub-inspector, a constable and a home guard from Chaubeypur police station are being investigated. “If guilty, they will be sacked and jailed,” the IG said.
Police have also taken into custody the sub-divisional officer and another employee of the power sub-station from where power was snapped at the time of the police raid in Bikru village. A line operator at Shivli power station, Chhatrapal Singh confessed to police about enforcing the blackout on instructions of a caller from Chaubeypur police station, buttressing the conspiracy angle.
In Video:Kanpur encounter: Cop informed Vikas Dubey about police team, says associate