Ubaidullah Nasir
Worst doubts of a common man in UP came true. Notorious gangster Vikas Dubey who till yesterday was blue eyed boy of ruling party was gunned down by UP STF near Kanpur where he and his henchmen have killed 8 policemen in a naxal like ambush about a week ago. After this daredevil operation Vikas and his henchmen were on run but most of them were gunned down by UP police in different parts of the state. Vikas too was on run and after passing his days at different places including Delhi and Faridabad reached Ujjain in MP visited Mahakal Mandir introduced himself there as “Main Vikas Dubey hun Kanpur wala”(I am Vikas Dubey of Kanpur ) the security guard on duty to whom he has introduced catched him and informed the police who took him into its custody and declared that Viaks Dubey has been arrested at mahakal mandir. Chief Minister Shivraj Chauhan took no time in taking credit for this arrest and appreciated MP police for its prompt action. But it was a blatant lie and everyone who heard this tall claim could not stop his smile. The escape of Vikas Dubey and his reaching to Ujjain is a mystery but surely it would not have been possible without the support of some moles in the system.
After his arrest he was handed over to UP STF who after taking the transit visa started its journey to Kanpur. It was earlier said that Vikas will be air lifted to Kanpur but in the last moment plan changed and he was brought to Kanpur by a vehicle. From here the story took a different turn the vehicle before reaching Kanpur collided with divider in the meantime taking benefit of the situation Vikas tried to run away compelling police to shot him dead. This is such an old and “ghisi piti” story that one can only laugh at this poor script. Many question have remained unanswered firstly the moles must be identified who have provided him safe route to Ujjain secondly why a notorious gangster of his stature was not airlifted and was brought to Kanpur by a vehicle, why he was not handcuffed or any other measure to ensure that he couldn’t play any mischief inside the vehicle, while he ran away why he was not shot in the leg as per laid down norms why was he shot to kill.
By killing Vikas Dubey and his henchmen UP Police implemented the “Thonk do “policy of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and have smashed Vikas’s gang. But it is not the end of story by doing so it has saved the veil on the face of many white collar criminals who have been prompting Vikas from the very beginning. He shot dead minster ranked leader of BJP Santosh Shukla inside police station but was acquitted for lack of proof surely the police under pressure from higher ups prepared a weak case resulting in his acquittal. Rajnath Singh was then the CM why appeal was not filed in High Court against this acquittal must be explained by BJP leadership. His track record as criminal and his political influence as a local tough or mafia continued to increase similarly and his support became necessary for all the candidates contesting election from his constituency in return they provided him protection thus it was a quid pro quo. Though basically he was a BJP loyalist and supporter but like every other criminal use to smell the political air and change loyalty both SP and BSP have used him during elections. With his murder all the political secrets in his chest will not be buried with him at his Chita. This is clear evidence that Vikas and his henchmen were gunned down under a well planned strategy so that faces of many leaders, ministers, bureaucrats, police officers are saved.
This trend of instance justice is a threat to rule of law. Legally police first priority must be to arrest the culprit and bring him/her to court of justice and after legal formalities and opportunity to defend himself one is sentenced by the court. But this trend of instance justice is not only gaining ground but is also supported and appreciated by a vast section of our society. This is another thing that this support and appreciation depends upon accused’s religion caste and political affiliations. Our legal system is being naturally questioned. Justice delayed is justice denied but courts are taking undue time in deciding cases. This is definitely an issue and the governments must ensure that court’s burden is minimized but this may not be ground for supporting instance justice. It is the time Supreme Court rises to occasion become tough against fake encounters not only policemen concerned but their immediate bosses and political leadership must be held responsible and punished for such encounters. Every fake encounter is a question mark on our justice delivery system.