UP govt forms panel to probe Kanpur ambush, Vikas Dubey's encounter

The Uttar Pradesh government on Sunday constituted a one-member commission to probe the Kanpur ambush and the encounter of gangster Vikas Dubey.

The panel will be headed by retired Allahabad High Court judge Shashi Kant Agarwal and submit its report in two months, a government statement said. It will be based in Kanpur.

According to the statement, the panel will also probe the gangster's "relationship" with police and people from various departments. It will suggest ways so as to prevent such a repetition in future, it said.

A government spokesperson said in the statement that the killing of eight policemen in the ambush on the intervening night of July 2 and 3 by Vikas Dubey and his henchmen and the gangster's encounter on July 10 is a subject of public importance.

Hence, its probe is essential," the spokesperson said, adding that panel will also probe "all encounters in the period from July 2-3 to 10".