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UP polls: Bikru relishes freedom from fear without Vikas Dubey
The villagers claim Vikas Dubey flexed his muscle in Bikru and elsewhere, used to decide the party and the candidate for them in elections
The people of Bikru say it will be the first time in three decades that they will be able to vote in the UP polls without the fear of Vikas Dubey, the gangster who was killed in an encounter in July 2020, days after eight policemen were gunned down in an ambush by him and his men in this village in Kanpur Dehat district of Uttar Pradesh.
Before 2020, Vikas Dubey chose the candidate for them and made sure he was voted for on the basis of gun power, the local people say.
Though Bikru is in Kanpur Dehat, it is part of the Bilhaur assembly constituency that falls in Kanpur Nagar district. Both Kanpur Nagar and Kanpur Dehat districts go to the polls in the third phase of Uttar Pradesh assembly election on February 20.
Bikru village made the headlines in 2020 when Vikas Dubey ambushed the police team during a failed raid. A deputy superintendent of police (Dy SP) and three sub-inspectors were among the eight policemen killed on July 2-3 night.
Almost 19 months later, Sachin Yadav, a milk vendor from Bikru in the Shivli area of Kanpur Dehat, says he is a Samajwadi Party (SP) supporter but hasn’t made up his mind yet on who he would vote for in the UP polls.
“I will vote wisely. First, I am assessing the situation and then I will make up my mind. Jaisa mahaul waisa karenge (It will depend on which way the wind is blowing),” he says on a steep road leading to Bikru.
While this is the first assembly election without Vikas Dubey in Bikru in 30 years, in 2021, the village chose a dalit woman Madhu Kumari as its head during the panchayat polls.
“The candidates are coming to campaign in Bikru after 25 to 30 years. Otherwise, Vikas used to decide who the people will vote for,” says Nabi Mohammad, a village elder whose family allegedly suffered at the hands of the gangster.
Almost the entire village is devoid of any poster or banner of political parties, but some houses have stickers pasted on their doors for the UP polls. The candidates and party workers go to the village seeking votes.
“This really makes us feel free. Otherwise, everything used to be decided for us. We did not have any say on issues related to politics,” says Maniram Verma, who runs a small shop in a corner of the village.
Verma says he belongs to the Lodhi community and will vote for the BJP as it has purged this village of the terror of criminals and the assembly election here will be free and fair for the first time.
OP Dubey, 75, sits near the erstwhile palatial house of Vikas Dubey. His son Praveen Dubey was among the four criminals involved in the ambush and was later killed in a police encounter. OP Dubey alleges his family’s name has been omitted from the list of ration card holders and adds that he did not get the ‘sarkari awas’ (house being given by government).
Asked whether Vikas issued diktats to people on whom to vote for, OP Dubey says, “Yes, he was feared and used to say if you don’t vote for a particular candidate, you won’t get the benefits of government scheme. He had people in all the parties.”
When asked who he will vote for in this election, he says he likes the BJP. Lalla Khan plays cards with old Muslim men on a sleepy afternoon close to Vikas’s house. Their family lives in the farthest corner of the village. As dusk descends, they say they will have to take position in their fields to save the crops from stray cattle.
“The cattle have been such a big problem for us all these years. We have a routine to follow like clockwork: go to the fields, keep an eye on cattle and guard the crops. We do it together,” he says.
When asked about Vikas Dubey, they react angrily and say, “He used to force us to vote for people of his choice. No one campaigned in this village all these years. The parties and leaders would go to his house, not the voters. He used to send liquor for the voters and lathis for those differing with him.”
“He is gone and so has trouble. There is no problem in Bikru. We can vote freely,” says Chote Khan, 71.
Chote and Sameed say they will vote for the SP because of inflation, adding that the DAP (fertilizer) price hurts them.
Vikas, who started out as a criminal in the 1990s, used his muscle power to curry favour with political parties. He used to allegedly decide the votes in Bikru, Bhiti, Succha Nivada, Dibba Nivada and four other villages.
In addition, his writ ran large in Chaubeypur and Bilhaur towns. He issued diktats till 2019 parliamentary elections, the villagers say.
Ram Badan Kori is excited that candidates have come to him after years in Dibba Nivada village.
“I am from the Kori biradari (community) and I am inclined to the SP. Otherwise, my decision also depends on what the community decides or the candidate I like,” he says.
