Vikas Dubey is an absconding gangster-turned-politician.
Dubey, who is based in Kanpur district of Uttar Pradesh, has dabbled in real-estate.
In 2000, Dubey won the Shivrajpur seat in a Zila Panchayat poll he fought from prison, where he was lodged after a murder charge, according to officials.
Dubey had instilled so much fear in everyone that even after being accused of murdering a BJP leader having the status of minister of state, not even a single police officer gave a statement against him, according to media reports.
Vikas Dubey was a history-sheeter, gangster-turned-politician, based in Kanpur Dehat district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. The first criminal case against him was registered in the early 1990s, and by 2020 he had over 60 criminal cases against his name. As of July 2020, he was connected to the killing of a Minister of State, inside a police station, and in another incident was the main accused in the killing of eight policemen during an attempted arrest.
Uttar Pradesh Police declared him an absconder with a bounty of 5 lakh before he was finally arrested on 9 July 2020 near Mahakaleshwar Jyotirlinga temple in Ujjain. He was killed on 10 July 2020 in an encounter after the vehicle carrying him met with an accident.
Vikas Dubey was a resident of a village Bikaru, Chaubepur block, Uttar Pradesh. In his youth, he formed his own gang. He was responsible for numerous criminal activities, including murder and “land grabbing”.
The first case against him was lodged in 1990 for murder. Dubey soon became one of the most wanted criminals in Kanpur. He was associated with politician Harikishan Srivastava, who was in the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP). Dubey, too, joined the BSP in 1995-96 and won elections at the district level, by allegedly employing force. His wife, Richa Dubey, has also won elections of local bodies.
His name came up in the murder of Dinesh Dubey, a businessman, in 2004. He allegedly committed another murder in 2013.
He was accused of ordering the murder of his cousin Anurag in 2018, while he was himself in jail. The victim’s wife had filed an FIR against four people, including him, according to his history sheet shared by officials.
Dubey was the primary accused in the 2001 killing of BJP leader Santosh Shukla, who was then a Minister of State, in the Shivli police station.
Dubey has been previously arrested but has later been acquitted due to alleged political pressure. Dubey was known to go by the name Vikas Pandit, naming himself after the titular character of the 1999 film Arjun Pandit. He was known to be alternatively referred to by this name, or simply as Pandit.
Criminal record:
The alleged gangster lives with his father, Ram Kumar Dubey, who is now being questioned by police.
Their house was described by a villager as “impenetrable castle” with CCTV cameras to prevent people from entering without his consent.
A villager said Dubey and his brother Deepu Dubey deal in real estate.
Another younger brother Avinash was killed some time back, the local resident claimed.
