Gangster Vikas Dubey recently made headlines after a failed raid to nab him led to the death of eight police officials in Kanpur. It was later revealed that Dubey and his associates had been tipped off by members of the police force. They had laid in wait for the cops, and then ambushed them with a hail of bullets, with Dubey managing to escape.
In the ensuing days, Dubey had resurfaced once in Faribabad, before being spotted at the Mahakaleshwar Temple in Madhya Pradesh's Ujjain. While it remains a mystery as to how exactly he managed to make the journey across state borders, reports suggest that he may have used a variety of vehicles, and opted to stay under the radar.
This however seems to have changed on Thursday, with Dubey being spotted at the temple. And while this particular encounter with the gangster ended with him in police custody, there has been some debate over exactly how the events unfolded.
Earlier in the day, the temple guard and the priest had offered up somewhat different accounts. There had also been some speculation whether Dubey had given himself up and surrendered to the police, or whether it had been a fugitive who had been arrested by the police.
According to Ujjain SP Manoj Kumar Singh, Dubey had reached the temple and purchased flowers and prasad from a shop, as well as buying a Rs 250 ticket for darshan.
"The owner had seen him on TV and suspected him to Dubey. He called up the private security agency at the temple and informed them," explains Singh.
"When he entered, the private security jawans informed our officials at Mahakal Chowki and started talking to him and asked his name. He gave them a false name but later gave his correct name. He was taken to Police station. We reached there and interrogated him seriously," he adds.
Singh says that as a final confirmatory step, they had contacted the Kanpur SSP and STF and sought his photo. When the STF reached here, he was handed over.
"It is good that Ujjain Police arrested him. Had there been even a little mistake, he could have left Ujjain after darshan at the temple," Singh adds.
He reiterates that the Ujjain Police are verifying all facts and are in "constant communication" with the UP Police.
