It was around 12.30pm on Tuesday that Vikas Dubey, now being hunted for the murder of eight policemen who went to arrest him on July 3, checked out of a hotel in Faridabad’s Badhkal Chowk, seemingly always a step ahead of the police.
Missing since the July 3 gunfight, Dubey is believed to have reached Faridabad sometime over the weekend to escape police in Uttar Pradesh, where he now has a bounty of Rs 5 lakh. In the NCR suburb, the gangster is believed to have stayed at multiple location, including first at a residence in Sector 87, form where three people were arrested on Wednesday.
Among them was a man identified as Prabhat, who also goes by Kartikey, and is one of Dubey’s close aides to accompanied him from Kanpur. The other two were residents of the house, including one person who has tested positive for Covid, and are now under arrest for harbouring a fugitive.
We received a tip-off about Dubey’s presence after which raids were carried out, said Anil Yadav, assistant commissioner of police (crime), Faridabad. According to him, UP police too was alerted and had arrived to scan CCTV footage and question the hotel staff. “Dubey was seen leaving alone. We received another secret information and crime teams worked on technical surveillance and a raid was conducted in Indira Complex in Sector 87 following which three close aides tried to escape the spot while firing at police teams but were arrested,” he said.
Romi Passi, the manager of hotel Oyo Shri Sasaram said a man resembling Dubey left the hotel before the cops reached. “They checked in around 12:45 am and gave a copy of Aadhar card of Ankur Mishra who accompanied him, though the copy was not clear and I asked him to give me the original copy but he was not carrying it. He said he will arrange by morning as it was already too late,” he said adding that the duo took room number 208, on the second floor.
{{/usCountry}}Romi Passi, the manager of hotel Oyo Shri Sasaram said a man resembling Dubey left the hotel before the cops reached. “They checked in around 12:45 am and gave a copy of Aadhar card of Ankur Mishra who accompanied him, though the copy was not clear and I asked him to give me the original copy but he was not carrying it. He said he will arrange by morning as it was already too late,” he said adding that the duo took room number 208, on the second floor.
{{/usCountry}}Passi said on Tuesday afternoon around 12:30 pm, both left the hotel. “We were shocked to see news channel flashing news and picture of our hotel on the television screen. Before we could react or understand the matter, police teams reached and started investigating. I had never seen any poster or picture of the gangster so how would I know he is one of the most wanted criminals,” he said.
According to officials in Faridabad police, who asked not to be named, close to 250 security cameras has been monitored to determine where Dubey may have gone.
Police identified the people arrested from the Sector 87 house as Prabhat, who comes from Dubey’s village and Dubey’s relatives Ankur and Shravan Mishra. “We have recovered 44 live cartridges, four pistols of 9 mm and Rs 3,000 from the possession of the suspects including two pistols which were looted from the UP Police,” said Yadav.
“Dubey left for Delhi as he suspected police was tracking his locations and he was willing to surrender before the Delhi court as he feared for his life and he told his aide that police will kill him in an encounter,” he added, citing the questioning of the people.
After watching the CCTV footage, police officers said it is likely Dubey was wearing padding around his abdomen to avoid recognition. He did not remove his face mask even once to ensure he was not recognised by the hotel staff, said police.