Mayawati seeks SC-monitored probe into Dubey killing, Kanpur encounter

Former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayawati has reacted to the killing of gangster Vikas Dubey on Friday morning. Dubey was shot dead by Uttar Pradesh Police when he allegedly took a weapon and tried to flee when being brought to Kanpur. Dubey was the prime accused in the killing of eight personnel of the Uttar Pradesh Police last week when they attempted to arrest him at his house in a village in Kanpur. Dubey had fled then and resurfaced in Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh, where he surrendered on Thursday morning.

Taking to Twitter, Mayawati, sought an "impartial probe monitored by the Supreme Court" into both the encounter at Kanpur on July 3 and the killing of Dubey. In a follow-up tweet, Mayawati argued "This high-level investigation is also necessary so that the family of eight policemen who were killed in the Kanpur massacre can get 'right' justice. Also, the nexus between the police and criminal political elements can be identified and punished strictly. Only with such steps can Uttar Pradesh become crime-free."

In the days since the encounter at Kanpur, images and revelations of Vikas Dubey's links to police officers, bureaucrats and politicians had emerged. Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra had criticised the Yogi Adityanath government over the Kanpur encounter. Reacting to the death of Vikas Dubey, Priyanka posted a cryptic tweet stating, "The end of the culprit [Vikas Dubey] has come, but what about the crime [Kanpur encounter] and those who protected the criminal?"

Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala tweeted three questions about the killing of Vikas Dubey. Surjewala asked, "If Vikas Dubey wanted to run away, why did he surrender in Ujjain? What secrets were with this culprit that would have exposed a nexus with the regime? Why are call details of the last 10 days not available?"