Police outside the house in Bakru village, Kanpur, where the eight personnel were killed. (Express photo/Vishal Srivastav)
TWO MORE associates of gangster Vikas Dubey were gunned down in separate encounters in Kanpur and Etawah on Thursday, police said.
With this, five of Dubey’s men have been killed in encounters since July 3, when eight policemen were killed during a failed raid to arrest Dubey in Bikru village of Kanpur district. All the five were among the 21 named in the FIR.
The two who were killed today have been identified as Kartikey alias Prabhat Mishra (20), who was arrested from Faridabad on Wednesday, and Ranveer alias Bauwa Dubey (37).
Police said Kartikey was being brought to Kanpur on transit remand when he snatched the pistol of a Sub-Inspector and tried to flee. Two constables were injured, they said.
“The encounter took place in Panki area of Kanpur, when a police team was bringing Kartikey alias Prabhat from Faridabad to Kanpur. The police vehicle had a flat tyre. Taking advantage of the situation, Kartikey tried to flee after snatching the pistol of a policeman,” ADG, Law and Order, Prashant Kumar said.
Kumar said Kartikey opened fire on the policemen accompanying him, injuring two STF constables. The policemen fired at him in self-defence, he said.
Police said Kartikey was rushed to a hospital, where he was declared dead. The injured constables are reported to be in a stable condition.
Police said the second encounter, in Etawah, followed a call to the police control room, at about 3 am, that four men had stolen a vehicle at gunpoint, in Mahewa village, under Bakewar police station area.
SP, Etawah, Akash Tomar, said at about 4.30 am, police spotted the stolen vehicle on Kachaura road. When they gave chase, the driver of the stolen vehicle lost control and the car hit a tree, he said.
Police said there was an exchange of fire after the men opened fire on the police team. After the firing stopped, police said, they found one of the attackers injured, and took him to hospital where he was declared dead. This man was later identified as Ranveer alias Bauwa Dubey.
Police are carrying out a search to trace the remaining three men who escaped.
Police said they had recovered a pistol, a double barrel gun and several cartridges from Ranveer’s possession. The double barrel gun belongs to Ramu alias Ravindra of Bikru village, police said.
The stolen vehicle belongs to one Ganesh Saha, who was on his way from Delhi to Jharkhand, Additional SP, Etawah, Omvir Singh said.
Hours after the failed raid on July 3, Vikas Dubey’s maternal uncle Prem Prakash Pandey and his associate Atul Dubey were gunned down. Amar Dubey, Vikas Dubey’s close associate and bodyguard, was killed in Hamirpur district, near Kanpur, early on Wednesday.
Twelve people, including five women, have been arrested so far.