The Station House Officer (SHO) of the Chaubeypur PS in Kanpur was suspended on Saturday over his suspect actions during the attack on a police team, leading to the death of eight policemen , during an operation to arrest the wanted criminal Vikas Dubey .
However, more than 24 hours after the brazen attack, Dubey remained at large. Police forces of 40 stations and 12 teams have been formed to nab Dubey and his men, said police.
Meanwhile, in Bikru village, where the attack took place, officials led by police teams used bulldozers to demolish a large house belonging to Dubey. Cars owned by him were also crushed in the drive. The police did not explain why and under what authority his property was demolished.
However, while talking to a television channel, Mohit Agarwal, IG Range Kanpur, said the priority of the police was to wipe out Vikas Dubey’s gang and to “seize” all the property that he had “illegally” acquired.
A police source said the house was demolished during a search for any hidden cache of weapons or possible hideouts or bunkersmade by Dubey, given the number of bullets fired by the assailants at the police team.
The police are also probing how the assailants led by Vikas Dubey were tipped-off about the raid that took place in the intervening night of July 2 and 3.
“It is certain that he had got information from somewhere that [the police] force is reaching to arrest him,” said Mr. Agarwal, adding that all aspects of the incident were being probed.
Even if the person who allegedly provided inputs to the assailants — who were well-prepared and used an earth mover to set up the ambush — belongs to the police department, that person would be booked, sent to jail and dismissed from service, said the officer.
SHO Chaubeypur Vinay Tiwari was part of the police team that went to arrest Dubey but it was found that he allegedly did not fire a single shot and even escaped from the spot when his colleagues were trapped.
“Had he stood his ground and led the other policemen to challenge the assailants, such a big incident would not have taken place. The criminals would have been either killed or arrested,” said Mr. Agarwal.
The SHO displayed a “cowardly conduct” during the incident, the officer said. This came amid allegations that the SHO had been in touch with Dubey prior to the incident.
