Vikas Dubey's arrest scripted, dubious: Congress

The Uttar Pradesh Congress on Thursday called the arrest of gangster Vikas Dubey, nabbed in Ujjain for killing eight policemen, as "scripted and dubious" and demanded a Central Bureua of Investigation probe into it.

Dubey was held outside a temple in the pilgrimage city of Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh after purchasing prasad and an entry ticket to the shrine, ending a six-day manhunt for the man accused of masterminding a deadly ambush on a police party outside his home in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh.

“The arrest of Dubey from the premises of Mahakal Temple in Ujjain is scripted and dubious and CBI should probe it,” Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee president Ajay Kumar Lallu said.

Lallu wondered how Dubey reached Ujjain when the state's borders were sealed and a host of agencies including the police were engaged in tracking him.

He said the UP government should tell the public why all those whose names have come to light for having ties with Dubey have not yet been arrested.

“The relationship of Vikas Dubey with the police is out in the open. One senior police officer has also been shifted whose photograph with Jai Vajpayee, an aide of Vikas Dubey, had gone viral. When is the top brass (of UP Police) going to be arrested,” Lallu asked demanding that the gangster's call details be made public.

Highlighting that Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Narottam Mishra was the in-charge of Kanpur region during the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Lallu questioned his role in Dubey's arrest.

“Normally it is seen that after any major mishap or arrest, a senior police officer addresses the media. What was the compulsion that MP Home Minister had to address the press?” Lallu asked.

It has come to the notice that all cops posted at Mahakal Temple have been transferred. Why and how did this happen needs to be investigated, he said.

“Police kept looking for him and he surrendered on his own in a BJP-ruled state. This also proves that the government and machinery of UP has fully failed,” he said.

The UPCC chief said that all these questions are haunting the people of the state and the government must respond to them.

The criminals enjoy patronage of the ruling party. Whatever recently happened in Kanpur exposes the state government's real image, nature and character, he said.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath is not able to manage the state's law and order and the situation is getting worse with each passing day. Criminals are getting emboldened in the state, he claimed.

Former MP chief minister Kamal Nath also said the gangster's safe departure from Kanpur, arrival at Ujjain and the manner of arrest gave birth to a lot of suspicion.

"Such a big criminal whom the police are searching for day and night, his safe exit from Kanpur and arrival in Ujjain and later entry into the temple and the way he shouted to get himself arrested gives birth to a lot of suspicion. It hints at some protection and it should be probed," Nath tweeted.

The previous Congress-led state government had acted tough against mafia who left Madhya Pradesh, but after the BJP returned to power, the state has become a safe haven for them, he said.

Congress's Rajya Sabha MP Digvijaya Singh demanded that Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan order a judicial probe into Dubey's arrest.

"I demand from Shivrajji a judicial probe into the arrest or surrender of Vikas Dubey. His connections with politicians and policemen should also be probed. During judicial custody, adequate security measures should be taken so that all secrets come out," Singh said in a tweet.

The senior Congress leader also slammed Chouhan for taking credit for Dubey's arrest, and said that state Home Minister Narottam Mishra should be credited for that.