Authorities in Uttar Pradesh on Monday suspended three more policemen over allegations that they were in regular contact with Vikas Dubey, the main accused behind the killings of eight personnel of the force in Kanpur Dehat district last week.
Dinesh Kumar P, Kanpur’s senior superintendent of police, said two sub-inspectors Kunwar Pal and KK Sharma and constable Rajeev of Chaubeypur police station were among those who have been suspended.
The role of these three policemen has been confirmed in the in-house investigation conducted by the force, officials have said. Their calls records were checked threadbare before they were suspended. They said the process to terminate them from service would begin soon.
Officials said they are under investigation for leaking the information about the raid as well.
Dubey’s aide, Daya Shankar Agnihotri who was arrested on Sunday, said in a video statement that a caller from a police station informed the 48-year-old Dubey, who faces 60 criminal cases, about the raid.
Agnihotri is suspected to be part of the gang that laid a trap for the police team raiding Kanpur Dehat’s Bikru village and attacked them on Thursday night.
Officials suspect it could be the police station in Chaubeypur, about 14km from Bikru. It is the place where an attempt to murder case was registered against Dubey by a villager on Wednesday. The team that went to raid Dubey’s village past Thursday midnight left from Chaubeypur.
Before this, Chaubeypur’s station officer (SO) Vinay Tiwari was suspended and shifted to Lucknow last Saturday after being questioned for nine hours over his role in leaking information about the raid. Officials have not specified the nature of allegations against him.
Officials have said they are investigation 30 policemen for their links with the 48-year-old gangster, who is on the run.
Officials believe that Dubey, an influential gangster whose criminal records date back to 1993, has support within the police force and that they helped him and his gang enjoy a free run despite cases of murder, attempted murder and abduction against them.
Mohit Agarwal, inspector general of police, Kanpur range, had said earlier at least three policemen were suspected to be in touch with Dubey and that an investigation was underway.
“Services of police personnel in league with him will be terminated and they will face a criminal trial,” Agarwal had said.
Hitesh Chandra Awasthy, Uttar Pradesh’s police chief, has also increased the reward amount for his arrest on Vikas Dubey to Rs 2.5 lakh from Rs 1 lakh after Agarwal sent a proposal on Sunday night.
The police have launched a massive manhunt for Dubey, who they believe slipped out of Uttar Pradesh before the state’s borders were sealed. An alert has been sounded in all 75 districts of the state for the arrest of Dubey and the search for the gangster intensified.
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