Dubey aide Arvind Trivedi sent to judicial custody, will be taken to UP for interrogation

According to an ATS official, Trivedi and his driver fled from Uttar Pradesh soon after the killing of eight policemen at Bikru village near Kanpur, in the intervening night of July 2 and 3, by Dubey and his associates.

The Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) produced Arvind Ramvilas Trivedi, a close aide of slain gangster Vikas Dubey and Trivedi’s driver Sushilkumar Suresh Tiwari in Thane court on Sunday and both the men were sent to judicial custody till July 21.

The Juhu unit laid a trap at Kolshet Road, Thane and nabbed accused Arvind Ramvilas Trivedi and his driver on Saturday.(ANI PHOTO.)

ATS officials said, the Uttar Pradesh police are on their way to Mumbai and will take them to Kanpur to investigate their roles in connection with the case of eight policemen killed by Dubey and his associates.

According to an ATS official, Trivedi and his driver fled from Uttar Pradesh soon after the killing of eight policemen at Bikru village near Kanpur, in the intervening night of July 2 and 3, by Dubey and his associates. “Both went to Madhya Pradesh and from there they came to Pune hiding in a truck. After that they changed the vehicle and took another truck and arrived at the Kolshet area in Thane,” he said.

“The Juhu unit of the ATS received a tip-off regarding Trivedi, known by the alias Guddan. The Juhu unit under the guidance of superiors laid a trap at Kolshet Road, Thane and nabbed accused Arvind Ramvilas Trivedi and his driver,” ATS officials mentioned in their statement.

Dubey, who was a history-sheeter and has approximately 60 criminal cases against him, absconded and was ultimately arrested in Ujjain on July 9. He was killed in an encounter on July 10, while being brought back to Kanpur by UP Police.

Trivedi is suspected of being involved in the murder of UP state minister Santosh Shukla, who was killed inside the Shivli police station in Kanpur, in 2001. Dubey was the main accused in the case, which saw 25 policemen, brought in as eyewitnesses to the murder, turn hostile in court. The UP state government had announced a reward of Rs 50,000 in exchange for information on Trivedi’s whereabouts.

Following Trivedi’s arrest, the UP Police issued a press statement confirming Trivedi was an associate of Dubey. “Following the arrest made by Maharashtra ATS, it has come to light that Arvind Trivedi is an old member of Vikas Dubey’s gang. Investigations are being conducted to ascertain if he was involved in the incident at Bikru village. Arvind has not been named in the FIR,” the UP Police said.