Kanpur: A purported letter written by one of the eight police personnel killed in last week’s Kanpur ambush, allegedly set up by local criminal Vikas Dubey, has gone viral with its suggestion that policemen were hands-in-glove with the history-sheeter.
The letter is believed to have been written in March by circle officer Devendra Mishra to the then Kanpur Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Anant Dev.
“On 13 March, a case was registered against Vikas Dubey in which the investigating officer (IO) changed the section to be applied. When asked about this abrupt decision to change the section, the IO said it has been removed at the behest of the station officer (SHO),” the letter states. The station house officer in question is identified in the letter as Vinay Tiwari.
The letter then adds that “acts like taking no action and displaying sympathy against such a notorious criminal raise serious doubts”.
“If the station officer/SHO does not change his style of functioning, then it can lead to serious incidents,” it states.
The letter is yet to be confirmed as authentic by UP Police. Kanpur inspector general of police Mohit Agrawal told the media Monday that he’d come to know of the letter through the media.
“A file has been sought from the SSP’s office in this regard and further action will be taken action after studying it,” he said.
Tiwari, it is learnt, was suspended Saturday on suspicions of being an informer. He is currently being questioned in police custody.
The letter has gone viral amid reports that an aide of Dubey, caught after an exchange of fire Sunday, had admitted to police that the ambush Thursday was organised after the criminal was tipped off about a police raid at his house in Kanpur.
Eight police personnel were killed in the ambush as they came under attack upon arrival at Dubey’s house in Bikaru village.
Meanwhile, Dubey remains on the run more than 84 hours since the ambush. Police have offered a reward of Rs 2.5 lakh for accurate information regarding his whereabouts.
Also Read: Call from police station tipped off Vikas Dubey hours before raid, aide tells probe officers
Politicians deny links
Dubey’s alleged political connections have become a subject of much speculation in light of two viral videos.
In one of them, believed to have been shot in 2006, Dubey is purportedly heard crediting former assembly speaker Hari Krishan Srivastava as his “political guru”.
Srivastava has served as MLA for the Janata Party, the Janata Dal and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP). The second video, believed to date back to 2017, appears to show Dubey being questioned about a murder case.
He is heard saying that he had been framed, and that several leaders, including BJP MLAs Bhagwati Prasad Sagar and Abhijeet Sanga, helped clear his name in the case.
However, both the BJP MLAs have denied having any connection with Vikas Dubey.
Talking to the media, Sanga, the MLA for the Bithur seat of Kanpur, said he neither had any association with Dubey, nor had he ever met him. Sanga said Dubey is a known criminal and “all the talk about his close association with politicians is bogus”.
Sagar, the MLA from Kanpur’s Bilhaur constituency, has described all allegations as false. “In fact, Vikas supported a BSP candidate during the 2017 elections against me. He is so shrewd that he can take anyone’s name just to save his own skin,”he added.
Also Read: Vikas Dubey, a criminal for police but ‘dabang neta’ with clout in all parties for villagers