On Saturday, the Maharashtra Police arrested Arvind and his driver in Thane: ATS official (File)
The Kanpur police claimed on Saturday that an associate of gangster Vikas Dubey who was arrested in Maharashtra was "neither wanted nor named" in the ambush case in which eight police personnel were killed.
Senior Superintendent of Police Dinesh Kumar Prabhu said in a statement that Arvind, alias Guddan Ramvilas Trivedi (46), who was arrested along with his driver Sonu Tiwari by the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) of the Maharashtra Police in the morning, were neither wanted nor named in the encounter case.
"It is to inform that it has come to light that the above accused are old gang members of dreaded gangster Vikas Dubey," the statement said.
Trivedi's role in the encounter case is being investigated in depth. The above accused are neither named nor wanted in the Chaubeypur incident, it said.
There was however no word on why the police had released Trivedi's photo along with 14 others, claiming them active gang members of Dubey and wanted in the Bikru village massacre.
On Saturday morning, the Maharashtra Police arrested Arvind and his driver in Thane, an ATS official.
Trivedi's was allegedly involved in many criminal cases along with Dubey, including the 2001 murder of UP minister Santosh Shukla, who was killed inside a police station.
The Uttar Pradesh government had announced a reward for Trivedi's arrest.
After the Kanpur ambush, Trivedi had left his phone at a shop near the village and went to Madhya Pradesh with his driver, an official said on the condition of anonymity.
From Datia in Madhya Pradesh, he travelled to Nashik, then Pune and finally reached Thane, the official added
Trivedi stayed at a friend's house in Thane and kept close watch on news to keep stock of the situation and police actions.