Uttar Pradesh: A year on, Bikru residents say ‘democracy restored in village’

KANPUR: Tired of unending atrocities at the hand of gangster Vikas Dubey and his aides, the residents of Bikru while recalling the massacre followed by Dubey’s encounter by police heaved a sigh of relief and said that “democracy has been finally restored after 25 years of long gap in Bikru”.
“Democracy or elections means nothing here in Bikru. None used to campaign here and Dubey would field candidates of his choice. People this time contested the elections and went door-to-door and sought votes,” said a group of villagers on the first anniversary of the Bikru massacre of July 2, 2020, night in which eight policemen were killed by Dubey and his henchmen.
Two gunmen, identified as a maternal uncle and another close relative of Dubey, were also killed in the gunfight.
The autopsy report revealed that DSP Devendra Mishra had been beheaded and brutalised with an axe, while other cops had multiple bullet wounds fired from different weapons, suggesting an ambush. The police later recovered looted weapons, including an Ak-47 rifle and an INSAS rifle, among others, belonging to the policemen.
The inspector-general of police had stated that at least 60 men had ambushed the police team, who were just 30 in number. The call records showed that Dubey was in contact with multiple cops, who leaked vital information to him.
Within eight days of the Bikru massacre, the police and STF together had killed six miscreants including Vikas Dubey in encounters.
On the night of July 2 & 3, 2020, Rahul Tiwari, a local of Chaubeypur, had filed a case of attempt to murder against Vikas Dubey and his associates.
After registering the FIR, a raid was conducted in Bikru village under the leadership of the then CO Bilhaur Devendra Kumar Mishra at around 12.30 the same night. Vikas Dubey and his henchmen were already ambushed here. A JCB was installed to stop the police at the house. As soon as the police arrived, the miscreants started firing at them from the rooftops.
Trial of the case is on.
After the Bikru incident, the police have sent a total of 45 accused including minor Khushi Dubey to jail. It also includes four women including Khushi. Apart from this, nine accused are Vikas’s helpers and arms buyers. The weapon buyer was a relative of a politician from Bhind, who was caught by STF. So far, NSA has been imposed on three accused Shivam Dubey alias Dalal, Ramesh Chandra and Bablu Muslim.
The policemen who were martyred in the ambush included Deputy SP Devendra Kumar Mishra, SHO Mahesh Kumar Yadav, sub-inspector Anoop Kumar Singh, sub-inspector Nebulal, constable Jitendra Pal, constable Sultan Singh, constable Babloo Kumar and constable Rahul Kumar.