 "Who is Vikas Dubey? A lowdown on Kanpur's notorious criminal")
Vikas Dubey is an absconding gangster-turned-politician. Dubey, who is based in Kanpur district of Uttar Pradesh, has dabbled in real-estate. In 2000, Dubey won the Shivrajpur seat in a Zila Panchayat poll he fought from prison, where he was lodged after a murder charge, according to officials. Dubey had instilled so much fear in everyone that even after being accused of murdering a BJP leader having the status of minister of state, not even a single police officer gave a statement against him, according to media reports.
Dubey once again came into limelight after the Kanpur encounter case in which a group of assailants opened fire on a police team, killing 8 policemen including a DSP rank official. Hours after the ambush of a police team at Bikru village, a photo on social media showed him at an event next to an Uttar Pradesh minister, who has switched parties to join the ruling BJP. The Congress claimed this showed political patronage. Another picture showed a poster appealing for votes for his wife Richa Dubey in a Zila Panchayat election, which she won from Ghimau under which the Bikru village falls. The poster carried pictures of two leaders now in opposition, implying that she had their support.
Police claimed that Dubey has been involved in about 60 cases. He was the prime accused in the murder of BJP leader Santosh Shukla inside the Shivli police station in 2001, according to an official. Dubey has also been an accused in the murder in 2000 of Sidheshwar Pandey, a manager at Tarachand Inter College in Kanpur. He was accused of plotting the murder of one Ram Babu Yadav from the prison in the same year. His name came up in the murder of Dinesh Dubey, a businessman, in 2004. He allegedly committed another murder in 2013. He was accused of ordering the murder of his cousin Anurag in 2018, while he was himself in jail. The victim’s wife had filed an FIR against four people, including him, according to his history sheet shared by officials.
The alleged gangster lives with his father, Ram Kumar Dubey, who is now being questioned by police. Their house was described by a villager as “impenetrable castle” with CCTV cameras to prevent people from entering without his consent. A villager said Dubey and his brother Deepu Dubey deal in real estate. Another younger brother Avinash was killed some time back, the local resident claimed.