Shivli, Kanpur Dehat

Vikas Dubey, the main accused in the murder of eight police personnel, was killed on June 10, 2020, in police firing following what the police claim to be a foiled bid to escape while being taken to Kanpur.

Dubey, a resident of Bikroo village in the Chaubeypur police station area of Uttar Pradesh’s Kanpur Nagar, was always known for the influence he had at the local level. He laid low despite the 60 cases registered against him. A man, Rahul Tiwari, had registered a case under IPC Section 307 against Dubey, 24 hours before the Kanpur encounter.

Taking cognisance of the matter and Dubey’s criminal record, the local police from three stations arrived to raid his house, late at night, on July 2. He, however, had been tipped off, and was fully prepared.

In the firing that ensued, eight police personnel were killed on the spot while two out of the seven injured succumbed later. Dubey absconded and was apprehended in Ujjain, almost a week later, on July 9, 2020.

On July 10, 2020, that is yesterday, while being taken to Kanpur from Madhya Pradesh, Dubey made an attempt to escape, the police claimed, and was killed in retaliatory firing.

“Vikas Dubey had become synonymous with terror in the society. No one dared to stand up to him. He was very aggressive,” Lallan Bajpai, 60, former chairmperson of Shivli, said. “He had a formidable reputation in and around his area. Nobody will risk testifying against him,” Bajpai said.

Some 19 years ago, Dubey got three members of Bajpai’s family killed and injured many others, by bombing his house, just three kilometres from Dubey’s house in Shivli Nagar panchayat in Kanpur Dehat district.

Here are excerpts of the Bajpai’s interview with Gaon Connection.

GC: How did Vikas Dubey become the notorious history-sheeter?

Bajpai: Vikas killed someone at the age of 17. That was his first. When he did not get punished in the case, he gained confidence, and turned ruthless. He was into petty crimes, but soon became a paid murderer. He was in and out of jail.

GC: Why do you think Vikas was not prosecuted for a long time?

Bajpai: He had two or three policemen as accomplices in every station, and enjoyed the support of many political parties. No one had the courage to testify against him. In 2001, even the police didn’t testify against him when he gunned down Santosh Shukla, the state minister, at Shivli police station. So, one can gauge the extent of his influence.

GC: Why was Vikas Dubey against you?

Bajpai: During the year 1988-89, I had opened a movie theatre by the name of ‘Sudha Palace’. It was the first in the region. Local cinema goers used to throng the place, and Vikas was one of them, then a student of Tarachand Inter College. I thought he was a simple, gullible youngster. Animosity between us began after my decision to contest, for the first time, in the election for the chairperson during the year 1995. A local MLA wanted Vikas to contest instead. That is where the resentment began.

Lallan Vajpayee became Shivli’s chairperson for the first time at the age of 30. He was the chairperson of Shivli for 22 consecutive years from 1995 to 2017, after which he did not contest the elections.

GC: When and how did Vikas attack you?

Bajpai: Vikas was jailed in some case. I was sitting at my house with a few people when some youngsters came and hurled bombs at my house. Three people died on the spot, I was severely injured. Since this incident, our mutual contempt was out in the open. No one else had openly opposed him in the area. Our enmity has been going on for 20-22 years. He had once carried out an attack on my brother also.

Before Lallan Bajpai’s house bombing case, Vikas had carried out many criminal activities. Some came to light, while many remained confined to the police stations.

GC: How many crimes has Vikas committed in your knowledge?

Bajpai: Well, his minor crimes are far too many to be counted. When I became the chairperson, I was able to stop the unlawful extortion in my area. Vikas used to receive tens of lakhs of rupees every month through extortion. In order to capture the land of the very college he had studied in, he murdered its principal in broad daylight at Shivli bus stop. This was in 2000. A year later, on October 22, 2001, he killed minister of state Santosh Shukla inside a police station.

After that, he murdered Jhunna Baba of his own village to take over his property. He killed a cable operator over minor payment disagreement and another person named Rambabu of the neighbouring village. In the early three years as a criminal, he murdered so many people and hence, people in the area were terrified of him.

Vikas was from an ordinary family but when he descended into the world of crime, he was lured towards property accumulation. He illegally occupied disputed lands and extorted money from factories. Gradually, he amassed property worth millions.

GC: How strong was Vikas Dubey’s political influence?

Bajpai: Vikas commanded a vote bank of 10,000 and every political party knew of it. Every party maintained a good relationship with Vikas for these votes.

GC: It is heard that Vikas used to help people. What do you say about that?

Bajpai: That is absolutely true. He used to help families in need of money during marriages. When he was earning Rs 10-12 lakh a month, how will losing two or three lakh rupees a year make a difference? He provided for numerous houses in the village. He used to indulge boys in the village and induct them into his gang. Vikas cannot walk for long because of a serious leg fracture during an attack in Saharanpur.

GC: How did the local people see Vikas?

Bajpai: Good people consider him to be a fearsome criminal, but some people who share his bent of mind, consider him their leader. Not many people, really. People follow him out of fear. Nobody has the courage to oppose him. I dared to do so and paid dearly for it.

GC: What do you want to say about the encounter that happened at midnight on July 2?

Bajpai: Ghar Ka Bhedi Lanka Dhaye (He who knows the secrets of the house, can bring ruin upon it). I deeply regret the killing of policemen but there must have been one among them who tipped Vikas off. As I already told you, he had two-three accomplices in every police station, who used to report to him every step police are taking. Some treacherous cops led to those eight men dying.

This conversation was held on July 9, 2020, the day Dubey was apprehended by police in Madhya Pradesh’s Ujjain.