Notorious UP criminal mastermind Vikas Dubey is wanted in over 60 cases.
Vikas Dubey, the notorious criminal behind the cold-blooded murder of eight UP cops, has managed to evade arrest despite extensive searches by police teams to capture him.
More than 25 teams of police officials have carried out raids at over 100 locations in the last 48 hours, with police teams carrying out searches near border with Nepal and other states. Police have also increased cash reward to Rs 1 lakh for information on the whereabouts of Dubey, who has at least 60 cases against him including murder and attempt to murder.
A surveillance team has also been set up to scan more than 500 mobile phones in an effort to retrieve information pertaining to his current location.
But despite the extensive searches, Dubey has remained untraceable so far.
There are also reports that Dubey might surrender in court but the information could not be verified by NDTV.
"Shoot him wherever he is," Dubey's mother was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.
She says no mercy should be shown to her son.
"People came and told me about the incident. I also saw it on TV. One who has given so much pain to others must pay for his sin," she said.
His father also left it to the government to take appropriate action against his son. "The government will act as per the norms, what can I do? The government will take steps, which it feels are appropriate," Ramkumar Dubey was quoted as saying by PTI on Saturday.
On Saturday, the Kanpur district administration demolished a house belonging to Vikas Dubey.
In visuals of the demolition, a group of armed police officers (some with what appear to be assault rifles) stand guard as a lone black-and-yellow bulldozer breaks down the house.
The Station House Officer (SHO) of Chaubeypur Police Station, under which Vikas Dubey's village falls, has been suspended.
"At the time of encounter, he fled the encounter site. Had he faced the criminals, situation could have been different," Mohit Agarwal, Inspector General (Kanpur Range), was quoted by news agency ANI.
Early Friday morning a large police force of around 50 cops, drawn from three police stations to arrest Vikas Dubey, were ambushed by Dubey's gunmen when they reached Bikru village, which is around 150 km from state capital Lucknow.
Eight police personnel, including a Deputy Superintendent of Police, were shot dead, and seven others injured.
Vikas Dubey's criminal record began in 1990 with a case of murder. Over the years, he accumulated charges of attempted murder, kidnapping, extortion and rioting.
In 2001, Dubey was charged with the murder of Santosh Shukla, a Kanpur BJP leader who was chased and shot dead inside a police station. Dubey "surrendered" in 2002 but was acquitted.
A criminal with political links, he was also the member of a political party in the past and allegedly kept armed henchmen in his village.
Widely feared, he wields influence and a plaque in his village, at the site of a project, describes him as a "former Zila panchayat member".
With inputs from PTI