Eight Uttar Pradesh policemen, including a Deputy Superintendent of Police, were killed when they went to a village in Kanpur in the early hours of Friday. The police officers were on the way to arrest Vikas Dubey a notorious criminal who has 60 cases under him. Dubey has been arrested several times in the past only to escape jail may times. Vikas Dubey's criminal record began in 1990 with a case of murder.During the chief ministership of Mayawati in 2002, Dubey reportedly had a free run in Bilhaurm Shivrajpur, Chaubepur, Rania areas of Kanpur. During this period, he allegedly amassed properties using illegal means. Dubey won the Nagar Panchayat election from Shivrajpur while he was in jail.
A senior BSP politician was also said to be very close to him. Currently, Dubey has at least 60 criminal cases against him. during the 1990s, Dubey was said to be a close associate of Harikishan Srivastava, who was an MLA from Janta Dal and later BSP. Dubey allegedly killed Srivastava's rival Santosh Shukla in the police station.
In 2001, Dubey was charged with the murder of Santosh Shukla, a Kanpur BJP leader who was chased and shot dead inside a police station. Dubey "surrendered" in 2002 but was acquitted.On Thursday, three police teams gathered forces and headed to the village to arrest Dubey in a case of attempted murder registered by a villager.