Day after ambush, UP Police suspends SO, razes criminal's hideout

Kanpur/Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh Police on Saturday suspended a station officer for his alleged connivance in the killing of eight of his colleagues, ambushed in his police station area Chaubeypur while they were going to arrest notorious local criminal Vikas Dubey.

As the eight policemen, who walked into a trap set by Dubey and fell to a hail of bullets fired from rooftops shortly after midnight on Friday, were given a tearful farewell, police began demolishing the criminal's lavish hideout in Bikru village, the scene of the bloody crime.

Swinging into action after the brutal deaths of the men, 25 police teams fanned out across Uttar Pradesh and other states to hunt down Dubey, wanted in 60 criminal cases, and his associates, officials said.

The attackers had fled, snatching weapons from the dead and the wounded policemen.

Police officials also said a surveillance team was scanning over 500 mobile phones and frantic efforts were on to retrieve information from the devices.

The needle of suspicion pointed to Vinay Tiwari, the SO of the Chaubeypur Police Station, about 40 km from Kanpur city, under which Bikru falls.

"In view of the allegations levelled against SO, he has been suspended and all the allegations are being thoroughly looked into," IG Kanpur Range Mohit Agarwal told reporters.

"If his involvement or that of any other personnel of the police is found in this incident, they will be sacked from the department and also sent to jail," he said.

The officer, however, did not disclose the nature of allegations against Tiwari. He also refused to divulge details of how many people have been detained and which other states the police were focusing on in its hunt for Dubey.

An official indicated that about 30 people were detained for questioning. Another said there was a possibility that Dubey may have fled to Nepal or taken shelter in a neighbouring state.

The eight men killed in the line of duty, mostly in their 20s and 30s, included Deputy Superintendent of Police Devendra Mishra (54).

Meanwhile, police personnel stood on guard and some passers-by watched as a bulldozer razed the boundary wall before bringing down Dubey's house. TV channels also showed visuals of luxury cars in the complex being crushed by the giant machines.

It was the same earthmover that was used to block the way of the policemen when they went for the raid. With agency inputs