Vikas Dubey was arrested yesterday at a famous temple in Ujjain.
Hours before Uttar Pradesh gangster Vikas Dubey was killed in an encounter while he was being taken to Kanpur on Friday morning, a plea was filed in the Supreme Court last night seeking security for the gangster. The petitioner had claimed the gangster, who was the main accused in the killing of eight policemen in Kanpur last week, may be killed in an encounter.
The petition filed by lawyer Ghanshyam Upadhyay also sought a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) - monitored by the top court - into the killing of the five of Dubey's aides over the last week and the demolition of Dubey's house in Kanpur.
The petitioner, who has urged the top court to hear the plea today, also sought directions to the Kanpur Police to register a first information report (FIR) in the demolition that took place a day after the Kanpur ambush.
"The killing of eight cops on July 2 in Kanpur is undoubtedly an incident that shook the nation. It was alleged that Vikas Dubey and his gang members were involved... the incident should be condemned," Ghanshyam Upadhyay is heard saying in a video message.
"However, what cops have done after that - killing five of Dubey's aides- is also shocking. Ours is a democratic country. Police should file complaint, investigate, collect evidence and file chargesheet in court. It is the judiciary's role to punish the accused after trial. In this case, the accused could have been given a death sentence. But chasing them to kill them in a so-called encounter is not the solution," he added.
"Murder charges should be slapped against those who are involved. We are trying that the petition is heard today. This is a serious matter," Mr Upadhyay said.
The notorious gangster, in his 50s, was arrested yesterday morning at the famous Mahakal Temple in Madhya Pradesh's Ujjain. Hours before his arrest, two of his accomplices had been shot dead by Uttar Pradesh police in separate encounters.
This morning, Vikas Dubey - charged in over 60 cases - was being brought back to Kanpur. When the car in which he was being taken - one of three in the police convoy -- overturned, he snatched the gun of a policeman and tried to run but was surrounded, said the police.
"The car overturned and policemen and the accused were injured. Then Vikas Dubey grabbed a gun from an injured policeman and ran. The police team caught up and surrounded him and tried to get him to surrender, but he refused and started firing. The police had to fire back in self-defence," the Kanpur police said in a statement.
Last week, eight policemen were ambushed and killed amid indiscriminate firing from rooftops when 50 policemen from three stations went to Bikru village in Chaubeypur area of Uttar Pradesh's Kanpur to arrest the gangster in an attempted murder case. Dubey escaped with many of his men after the massacre.