Priyanka Gandhi demanded a Supreme Court-monitored probe (File)
Criminals like Vikas Dubey have been thriving in Uttar Pradesh under the BJP rule and the state has turned into "apradh pradesh" (crime capital), Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi said in a video address on Twitter on Friday, hours after the gangster was shot down by the police in an early morning encounter. She demanded a Supreme Court-monitored probe into the entire "Kanpur incident".
"The BJP government has turned Uttar Pradesh into apradh Pradesh. It is number one when it comes to crimes related to children, Dalits, women, illegal weapons and murders. The law and order situation has deteriorated immensely. Under these circumstances, criminals like Vikas Dubey are thriving. They have huge businesses, they commit crimes and there is nobody to stop them," she said.
Vikas Dubey, a gangster with alleged political links, was shot dead on Friday morning while being brought back from Madhya Pradesh after his dramatic appearance at a famous temple in Ujjain, days after he and his accomplices had gunned down eight policemen in a village near Kanpur, the special task force said.
He snatched a pistol from one of the personnel accompanying him after the car he was travelling in overturned in a bid to avoid a herd of cattle; he was killed in retaliatory firing, the police claimed today.
"The police team had no choice but to fire back in self-defence. Dubey was injured and fell. After first-aid, the police took him to a government hospital where he was declared dead by doctors," the STF said.
Ms Gandhi said the eight policemen will not get justice until the criminal-politician nexus is exposed.
"Congress demands that a serving Supreme Court Judge should conduct a judicial probe and find the truth behind the incident. Those who nurtured a criminal like Vikas Dubey should be exposed. Justice will not be served until the criminal-politician nexus is exposed," she added.
Five of Dubey's aides had been killed in the past few days. Two of them were shot dead in encounters just hours before his arrest.