LUCKNOW: In all eight police personnel including a circle officer in the rank of Deputy Superintendent of police, three sub-inspectors and four constables were martyred during a past midnight operation against a history sheeter Vikas Dubey in Bikru village in Kanpur on late Thursday night.
Besides, seven police personnel were left injured with one being critical in the operation. However, three criminals were also killed in the operation.
As per the sources, the operation was being carried out by the police team comprising around 50 cops in Bikru village under Chaubepur police station area in Kanpur city on the tip off given by one of the villagers. History sheeter Dubey is still absconding.
As per the police sources, the police team, led by CO Devendra Mishra, came under intense firing from the roof tops of the village where the history sheeter and dreaded criminal Vikas Dubey, who has around 70 criminal cases lodged against him.
The encounter took place as the cops laid a seize in the village and approached his house to nab him.
While UP DGP HC Awasthi claimed that operation was still on, he said that the way criminals had put up massive roadblocks in the passage of the police party and fired at it from roof tops hinted that the criminal had got a wind of the approaching police party. The DGP said that special task force of the UP police was also pressed into action to nab the criminals.
On getting the information about the incident, Additional Director General (ADG) Law and Order, Prashant Kumar, IG Kanpur and senior SP Kanpur rushed to the spot.
“ADG (Law & Order) has reached the spot to supervise the operation in Kanpur. We are raiding all the possible hideouts of the criminal. A forensic team has also been sent to Kanpur to establish which weapons were used by the criminals in the firing,” said the DGP. Awasthi hinted that the criminals seemed to have used very sophisticated weapons against the cops.
Meanwhile, taking cognizance of the issue, UP CM Yogi Adityanath expressed grief and sorrow over the martyrdom of the cops. He paid his tributes to the martyrs and has sent his condolences to the bereaved families.
The CM has also directed the UP DGP to bring the criminals to books at the earliest.
While interacting with media persons on reaching Kanpur, Prashant Kumar said that intense combing was on in Kanpur and also adjoining districts by 60 teams of policemen. Force from adjoining districts have also been called in to continue the operation.
As per the local police sources, around 100 rounds of bullets were fired at the police party from the roof tops. However, the villagers were tightlipped about the incident.
They were neither spilling any information about the dreaded criminal nor were they ready to acknowledge any operation at 3:30 am.
Those cops who lost their life in the operation included, Circle officer, Bilhaur, Devendra Mishra, Shivrajpur Station House Officer Mahesh Chandra Yadav, Police Mandhan station incharge Anoop Kumar Singh, Sub-Inspector Nebu Lal, constables Sultan Singh, Rahul, Babloo and Jitendra.
Meanwhile, the border of the Kanpur district have been sealed and drones have been deployed to keep an eye over the movement of criminals. On the other, Rapid Action Force has been deployed in the village.
(THE NEW INDIAN EXPRESS)