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Vikas Dubey’s killing, Telangana encounters different: Police
The UP affidavit maintained that Dubey was killed in retaliatory firing when the state police’s Special Task Force (STF) was trying to recapture him when he fled after a car bringing him from Madhya Pradesh.
Gangster Vikas Dubey’s killing on July 10 cannot be likened to the 2019 killings of four men accused of raping and murdering a 26-year-old Hyderabad veterinarian, the Uttar Pradesh government said in an affidavit submitted in the Supreme Court on Friday.
The submission came days after the court, in response to a plea demanding a Central Bureau of Investigation probe into the killings of Dubey and his accomplices, on Tuesday indicated that it may order a judicial probe into them since “we have done it in the other case pertaining to Telangana”.
In that case, the court in December constituted a three-member commission to investigate the killing of the four days after they were arrested . The Telangana police have insisted the four accused were killed in an exchange of fire on December 6 after they allegedly broke free and snatched the weapons of the police when they were taken to the crime scene.
The UP affidavit maintained that Dubey was killed in retaliatory firing when the state police’s Special Task Force (STF) was trying to recapture him when he fled after a car bringing him from Madhya Pradesh, where he was arrested for his alleged involvement in the July 3 killing of eight policemen in Kanpur, overturned following an accident.
“The facts of the present [Dubey] case are completely and diametrically different from the facts emerging in the incident which took place in Hyderabad.”
The affidavit argued that the four accused were not hardened criminals unlike Dubey, who faced 64 criminal cases including those related to murder, attempt to murder, and dacoity. It added that the Uttar Pradesh government on July 12 appointed a one-member judicial commission to probe the killing of eight policemen in Kanpur as well as that of Dubey .
It added that there was no accident in the Hyderabad case. In this instance, there was an accident that led to Dubey’s escape that culminated “in the encounter”, it added.
The affidavit said the accident was real and not sham, while insisting that the circumstances itself establish the truth. “A herd of cattle was passing through the road and heavy rain led to the accident which was beyond the control of anybody. There is clinching material evidence which establishes that the vehicle skid on the wet road. Policemen have also sustained injuries due to accident as well as firearm injuries inflicted by the criminal,” the affidavit said. “All four police persons in the vehicle got seriously injured and lost consciousness.”
The affidavit said Dubey snatched a pistol from inspector Rama Kant Pichauri and escaped. It added that an STF team, which was part of the convoy taking Dubey to Kanpur, reached the spot under deputy superintendent TB Singh. The affidavit said the team chased Dubey, who fired nine rounds. TB Singh was hit on the chest but survived as he was wearing a bulletproof jacket, it added. The affidavit said Dubey was repeatedly asked to surrender but he ignored the warnings and kept firing and left two STF personnel wounded.
“In defence, the STF fired six shots at Vikas Dubey. Three shots hit him. He was then rushed to the hospital where he was declared dead.” It rejected claims that Dubey surrendered in Madhya Pradesh (as video clips suggested) and added he was arrested.
Politicians, former police officers, and rights groups have demanded a probe into Dubey’s killing, saying the police version of what happened does not add up. Five people linked to Dubey were killed between July 3 and July 9.
“The only difference I can see between the UP encounter and the Hyderabad encounter is that the UP government has set up its own judicial commission to inquire into the Dubey killing. However, the commission has been asked to go into a lot of other issues as well related to Vikas Dubey and has been given a really wide ambit. The time frame given (of two months) and the fact that the report will be given only to the UP government does not give me too much confidence about whether truth will come out from this process”, said Alok Prasanna Kumar , Senior Resident Fellow at Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy.
“The table in the affidavit comparing the two encounters is amusing. It seems to suggest that the encounter killing of Dubey was more credible than the Hyderabad encounter and somehow seems to insinuate that the Hyderabad encounter was fake. The grounds cited in the affidavit to claim that UP encounter was different (from Hyderabad encounter) does not hold much water in the eyes of law”, said Supreme Court lawyer MF Philip.
