Vikas Dubey

Vikas Dubey (26 December 196410 July 2020) was a notorious Indian gangster-turned-politician, crime boss, mobster and history-sheeter from Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh particularly infamous for the Bikroo case in July 2020. He was commonly known as "Vikas Pandit", naming himself after the titular character of the 1999 film Arjun Pandit, played by Sunny Deol. He was also alternatively referred to as "Pandit Ji" locally. He was connected to the murder of a minister of state, and in another incident, was the main accused in killing eight policemen during an attempted arrest. Uttar Pradesh Police declared him an absconder with a bounty of ₹500,000 on him, and he was arrested on 9 July 2020, in Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh. He was killed on 10 July 2020, in an encounter, after the police vehicle carrying him met with an accident. Media reports state that because of his political connections, Dubey had been acquitted for most of his murders, despite the presence of multiple witnesses at the scenes.

Early life Dubey was born to a Brahmin landlord family in Bikroo village in Kanpur Nagar district, Uttar Pradesh. Dubey soon became one of the most wanted criminals in Kanpur. The first case lodged against him, in 1990, was for murder. Dubey also joined the BSP in 1995-96 and won elections at the district level, allegedly by employing muscle power. He was arrested but was later discharged, allegedly due to his political influence. The deceased were identified as DSP Devendra Mishra, Mahesh Yadav, Anoop Kumar Singh, Sultan Singh among others. The autopsy report revealed that the deceased were brutalized with an axe, along with multiple bullet wounds which were fired from different weapons, suggesting an ambush. The police later recovered weapons, including an AK-47 and an INSAS rifle, among others. The inspector general (IG) of Kanpur said that at least 60 men had ambushed the police team, who were 30 in number. Following this, the Kanpur administration demolished his house with a bulldozer, and 25 police teams were then formed to arrest Dubey and his other associates.

Arrest and death Dubey was arrested in 2017; when the Government of Uttar Pradesh charged him under the Gangsters Act and Anti-Social Activities (Prevention) Act and charge-sheeted him in 2019. He challenged this at the High Court and secured an order of no coercive action against him.

He was apprehended again on 9 July 2020, near the Mahakaleshwar Jyotirlinga temple in Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh. A petition was filed in the Supreme Court that same night which requested police protection for him and a thorough CBI investigation of his crimes.

On 10 July, the police vehicle carrying Dubey was involved in a road accident and overturned. The real cause of the accident remains unclear. Dubey allegedly snatched a pistol from a policeman trying to fix a flat tire and tried to run away, before being killed by the Uttar Pradesh Police.

Post-death investigation Following Dubey's death, an investigation led by retired Supreme Court judge B. S. Chauhan was initiated to look into 2 July encounter. People in gangster Dubey's circle, his state connections, and how he managed to get bail was investigated. The Justice B S Chauhan inquiry commission found no evidence of wrongdoing by Uttar Pradesh Police in the encounter killings of gangster Dubey and his five associates.

Bikroo Kanpur Gangster A film has also been produced on gangster Vikas Dubey named Bikroo Kanpur Gangster. The film is written and directed by Neeraj Singh and Shraddha Srivastava. During a press conference, the film's director Neeraj Singh had said that he had to shoot the film in Kanpur but later he was disallowed to shoot it further. Neeraj Singh had also stated at the press conference that he had received many threatening calls.