From Friday to Friday: How Vikas Dubey turned from a nonentity to most wanted

Until Friday, July 3, Vikas Dubey was a relatively unknown name in the country. However, as the sun dawned that day, Dubey had become the most dreaded name in the country.

He and his aides had killed eight police personnel in Bikru village under Chaubeypur police circle in cold blood. The police team had raided Dubey's house to arrest him in a case of attempted murder but he was tipped off about it by some moles in the department.

Already prepared with his gang for the raid, Dubey opened fire on unsuspecting police personnel and then fled the scene with his accomplices, leaving behind a trail of blood, rage and horror.

The incident, first of its kind in Uttar Pradesh, led to nationwide outrage and cast aspersions on the Yogi Adityanath government as well as the state police force.

Hot on heels after losing eight personnel, the Kanpur police shot dead two suspects, Prem Prakash Pandey and Atul Dubey, within four hours of the incident.

In another knee-jerk reaction, the police demolished Dubey's house in Bikru village a day after the massacre and trampled over his two vehicles and two tractors with an earthmover. Political leaders like former Union Minister Salman Khurshid raised questions on the legality of the action and the action on his family earned him support from the Brahmin community.

Two policemen, Station officer Vinay Tiwari and inspector KK Sharma were suspended after their call detail records confirmed their conversation with the gangster. They were arrested on Wednesday.

Investigations revealed that Vikas had amassed wealth and property through deals in real estate, liquor business and contracts.

As investigations progressed, the political connections of Vikas Dubey grabbed headlines. His photographs with top political leaders across the political spectrum added to the discomfiture of the people in power and in the opposition. Political parties then indulged in mud-slinging and played the blame game.

On Wednesday, the STF hunted down and killed his lieutenant Amar Dubey in Hamirpur and Bauan Dubey in Etawah. Prabhat Mishra, who was arrested from Faridabad on Wednesday, was shot dead in an encounter on Thursday - coincidentally, at the same spot where Vikas Dubey would later be felled on Friday.

Vikas Dubey, meanwhile, remained elusive for the police. Fifty teams of state police and Special Task Force raided all his hideouts and picked up his relatives in an attempt to mount pressure on the gangster.

The borders of the state were sealed and frantic searches were carried out on the highways while Vikas remained holed up in a relative's house in Kanpur itself for two days.

He then managed to reached Faridabad where he was caught in a CCTV camera at a hotel. The police reached after he had escaped.

Every move of Vikas Dubey was hungrily lapped up by the media, turning the gangster into a much-dreaded don almost overnight.

Even as the police continued its attempts to arrest the gangster, Vikas quietly slipped into Madhya Pradesh and then to Ujjain. On Thursday morning, he went to the famous Mahakaal temple where he revealed his identity and got himself arrested.

The Madhya Pradesh police claimed the credit for his arrest and Vikas was handed over to the UP STF on Thursday night.

He had reached Kanpur on Friday morning when the SUV he was being brought in overturned and he was killed in an encounter by the police while he was trying to flee.

He was taken to the hospital where the doctors declared him dead on arrival.

When he died, Vikas Dubey had completed his journey from a nonentity to a much-dreaded gangster -- all in a week, from Friday to Friday.

(With IANS inputs)