A Special Investigation Team set up by the Uttar Pradesh government has recommended an Enforcement Directorate investigation into property worth Rs 150 crore amassed by gangster Vikas Dubey, shot dead by police in July this year, and his accountant, officials said on Tuesday. The three-member SIT, set up to probe the July 2 massacre of eight policemen by Dubey in Kanpur as well as his past, has also recommended action against 90 officials from the police, rural development, food and revenue departments for their alleged involvement in helping the gangster build his empire, they said.
These officials should be subjected to punishment, ranging from severe to mild, for remaining in constant touch with Dubey and helping him, the SIT, headed Additional Chief Secretary Sanjay Bhoosreddy, said in its 3,100 page report. The report, which was submitted in October this year and accepted by the government recently, said the officials did not attend to complaints against the criminal and were also involved in issuing weapons, SIM cards and passports to him and his gang on the basis of false documents. Strict action should be taken against officials who had helped the gang procure licensed weapons and ammunition and allowed them to amass it illegally, the report said.
While recommending that the ED should thoroughly probe the ill-gotten’ property worth Rs 150 crore owned by the gangster and his accountant, the report added that FIRs should be registered against all those officials who had helped Dubey and his gang. The Uttar Pradesh government in November suspended then Kanpur police chief Anant Dev after the SIT probe pointed to a nexus between Dubey and the police.
The SIT was constituted after eight policemen were ambushed in Bikru village in Chaubeypur area of Kanpur as they headed there to arrest Dubey shortly after midnight on July 2. They were mowed down by bullets fired from the rooftops.
Eight days later, on July 10, Dubey was shot dead by police when he was allegedly trying to escape from police custody while being brought back to Kanpur after his arrest in Ujjain. The SIT was initially asked to submit its report by July 31 after looking into all angles, studying related documents and conducting inspections in Kanpur. The deadline was later extended by the government.