Vikas Dubey escaped last Friday after killing eight policemen in an ambush he had set up to avoid arrest
A relative of DSP Devendra Mishra, who was among the eight killed in the Kanpur ambush, on Thursday questioned the arrest of gangster Vikas Dubey, claiming it was a "well-planned surrender" and the gangster was "saved from death".
He was apparently referring to the deaths of Dubey's five alleged accomplices in encounters with the police.
IG, Civil Defence, Amitabh Thakur, said it was possible that Dubey might get killed in an encounter while trying to escape from police custody, thus closing the gangster's chapter. But this episode had brought to light the muck in UP police and there was a need to take action against those found guilty, he said.
"This is not an arrest but he has been saved from ''death''. It was a surrender made in a well-planned manner," Kamalkant Mishra, the brother-in-law of Devender Mishra told reporters.
"Nobody can compensate for the loss that we are facing but if the criminal has been arrested, it is a source of satisfaction for us," he said, adding, "I do not think that it is the end of the story rather, it is just the beginning".
The arrest happened in a very well-planned way as first Dubey was in Faridabad and in just 12 hours he reached the door of Mahakal (in Ujjain), Kamalkant Mishra said.
He claimed that the Madhya Pradesh Police went to arrest the dreaded criminal with the media and asked how many encounters and arrests of such manner had people watched before.
"Eight cops, including Devendra Mishra, were not killed by Dubey or his gang alone. Others are also involved and they have kept protecting him till now," he said.
"Dubey has surrendered on their advice as well. I will not call this an arrest. Actually, he has been saved from death. He was confident that he would be saved."
About the police department, he said that some people in the department deviate from righteous path and help criminals, but everyone is not wrong. "Even Devender was part of the force," he said.
He said Dubey was able to travel without any difficulties despite a large police force checking people and vehicles on the roads.
"Who will go to ''Mahakal'' temple for praying in a situation where the person is concerned about their safety," an aggrieved Kamlakant Mishra said.
Meanwhile, senior IPS officer Amitabh Thakur tweeted, "We couldn't arrest Vikas Dubey and he surrendered in Ujjain. We couldn't arrest him even in such a case and he managed to travel to a distant place. I think this aspect needs to be enquired into."
"It is possible that tomorrow he might get killed while trying to escape from police custody, thus closing the Vikas Dubey chapter, but I feel this episode has brought to light the muck in UP police. There is a need to take strict and honest action against all those found guilty," he added on the micro-blogging site.