Media crews trailing STF stopped ‘for checks’ 15 mins before Dubey encounter

LUCKNOW: At least 10 news channel crews were following the heavily armed STF convoy carrying Vikas Dubey soon after it entered UP at Aith toll plaza in Jalaun district. However, as the convoy reached Barajod toll plaza near Kanpur at around 6.30am, all other vehicles were stopped. They were told it was for routine checking of papers.
Barely 15 minutes later, news spread that Dubey had been shot as a special task force vehicle carrying him had overturned and he had opened fire after snatching the weapon of a constable.Mediapersons on the spot raised the issue and alleged that they had been deliberately stopped as the enounter killing had been planned.
UPADG Prashant Kumar trashed the charges. “You (media) should have disclosed your identity that ‘I am from the press’, (sic) we would have allowed (sic). Who knows if men trailing the team were working on behalf of somebody or not? Police never hide anything. We got him from MP after signing the papers. He was not wanted there, but in UP. They didn’t hand him to us and asked us to go and kill him,” he said.
IGP (Kanpur range) Mohit Agarwal told TOI: “In that critical phase also we ensured that vehicles with proper documents and credentials were allowed to go.” He also refuted claims that video footage showed Vikas Dubey sitting in a vehicle which was not the one that had overturned.