Vikas Dubey, who was killed by the Uttar Pradesh police reportedly in an encounter on Friday, was being taken by them to Kanpur from Ujjain without obtaining a transit remand from a local magistrate, said the Madhya Pradesh police.
Adarsh Katiyar, Madhya Pradesh Additional Director General of Police (ADG), Intelligence, told The Hindu , “Transit remand was to be taken by the Uttar Pradesh police as he was wanted by them. That was their call.”
Uttar Pradesh ADG, Law and Order, Prashant Kumar, on Thursday said Dubey would be brought to the State on transmit remand.
Dubey was accused of shooting dead eight policemen in Kanpur last week.
According to a note issued by the Uttar Pradesh police’s Special Task Force (STF), Dubey was reportedly being taken to a Kanpur court. “The accused, Vikas Dubey, was being taken by the STF to Kanpur city to be produced before the court of Kanpur city from the Ujjain court according to rules”, the STF said.
Confirming that the Uttar Pradesh police hadn’t produced Dubey before a magistrate in Ujjain, Arvind Tomar, in charge of the Mahakal police station under which Dubey was arrested, said, “The Ujjain Superintendent of Police received an application from the Kanpur police saying Dubey was absconding and carried a reward. And in order to complete the judicial process, he should be handed over to them. So, we handed him over to them in compliance with that”.
Dubey was killed in an alleged exchange of fire with the police near Kanpur when he was reportedly tried to flee the escort taking him. On Thursday, he was reportedly arrested by the Ujjain police near the Mahakal temple where he arrived to ostensibly offer prayers and was later handed over to the Uttar Pradesh police.
Meanwhile, Mr. Tomar rubbished a social media post claiming Dubey had told the Ujjain police after his arrest that police personnel were in touch with him and that he fired on the police team, out to arrest him on the intervening night of July 2 and 3, out of fear of an encounter.