UP Police takes custody of slain gangster’s aides

Uttar Pradesh Police took transit remand of Arvind Ramvilas Trivedi, an associate of slain gangster Vikas Dubey, and Trivedi’s driver Sushilkumar Suresh Tiwari from

Uttar Pradesh Police took transit remand of Arvind Ramvilas Trivedi, an associate of slain gangster Vikas Dubey, and Trivedi’s driver Sushilkumar Suresh Tiwari from Thane court on Monday.

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Inspector Gyan Singh of Kanpur police, who is an investigating officer in the killing of eight policemen by Dubey and his associates, reached Mumbai on Sunday night, along with other police constables.

On Monday, after Trivedi and his driver were produced in the Thane court around 2.45pm in connection with the cop killing case, the police were given transit remand till July 16. The two accused, who are not yet named in the first information report in the case, have been remanded in judicial custody till July 21.

Defence lawyer Anil Jadhav said, “It is not safe to travel by road due to heavy rain as well the Covid-19 situation. Railway services are also not there for long distance travel, so the accused are afraid of traveling in a vehicle from Mumbai to Kanpur. They urge that they be taken to Uttar Pradesh by flight.” The court has allowed the same.

Both the accused were tested for Covid-19 on Saturday and have tested negative, said Jadhav.

Trivedi and Tiwari fled from UP soon Dubey and his associates killed eight policemen at Bikru village near Kanpur in the intervening night of July 2 and July 3. Both the accused came to Madhya Pradesh where, the police believe, they met Dubey. After that they went to Pune while hiding in a truck, and then took another truck to come to Thane. They were staying in Kolshet, said an officer from the anti-terrorism squad (ATS).

Juhu unit of the Maharashtra ATS arrested Trivedi and Tiwari on Saturday morning following tip-off, following which the Uttar Pradesh Police was informed.

UP state government had announced a reward of ₹50,000 in exchange for information on Trivedi’s whereabouts.

Trivedi is suspected of being involved in the murder of UP 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, turn hostile in court.

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

Following Trivedi’s arrest, UP Police issued a press statement confirming that 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,” said UP Police.