By Sumit Kumar Singh
New Delhi, Jul 4 (IANS): The Intelligence Bureau, the country's elite intelligence agency, has been roped in to trace wanted criminal Vikas Dubey for killing eight policemen in Kanpur. The Intelligence Bureau sleuths are now helping the Uttar Pradesh Police's Special Task Force (STF) to trace the whereabouts of one of the gangsters Dubey, who has around 60 cases in his name and also has political patronage.
Sources said the Intelligence Bureau and the Special Task Force suspect that the gangster is in hiding in the ravines of Beehad in Chambal. They have also sought from the Madhya Pradesh Police in finding the whereabouts of Dubey. The police are looking for the whereabouts and if he is not being traced within the next 24 hours, it is learnt that the state government will announce a huge reward to know his whereabouts.
During probe, it was found that Dubey had close links with various state lawmakers and the law enforcement agency -- UP Police. "If caught, he would a Pandora's box. The entire nexus between gangsters, politicians and bureaucrats in UP would be exposed," said a top IPS officer.
Earlier in the day, the UP government demolish the well-fortified house of the gangster in Kanpur. He shot dead eight police personnel in Bikru village under Chaubeypur police circle in Kanpur
Dubey's father and his family members, along with their servants, were asked to vacate the premises and were cordoned off from an area of 50-metre around the house before launching the demolition drive. Even the structures used to park their vehicles within the compound were demolished.
The house, which not only has 30-to-40-feet-high thick walls on the perimeter, was secured by concertina wire and 50 CCTV cameras.
Dubey had illegally occupied land worth crores of rupees in Kanpur and other places. He also owned a number of luxury vehicles, apart from owning expensive furniture and electronic gadgets.
The Dubey gang shot dead eight police personnel early on Friday. During a police operation to nab Dubey, eight policemen, including a deputy superintendent of police, were shot dead and seven others injured.
Acting on a complaint filed against Dubey for attempt to murder, the police team which went to nab the gangster was ambushed, in one of the bloodiest attacks on the police in the state.
Dubey has enjoyed political patronage over the years under various parties, and has 60 cases lodged against him since 1993 for murder, robbery, kidnapping and land grabbing.
In 2001, he was accused of killing a BJP leader and Minister of State, Santosh Shukla, inside the Shivli police station. Dubey was not arrested due to lack of evidence, which a political watcher in the state owes to the sway of terror and influence he wielded.