It was around 7.30am on Thursday in the temple town of Ujjain, which houses the famous Mahakaleshwar Mandir, when dreaded gangster Vikas Dubey arrived in a private car having UP registration number with two others for a darshan of the deity.
Devotees chanted Jai Mahakal inside the Lord Shiva temple, one of the 12 Jyotirlings in the country, blissfully unaware about the presence of a man who had triggered one of the biggest multi-state manhunts by the police in recent times.
But Dubey, wanted for the killing of eight Uttar Pradesh policemen in an ambush in his hometown of Kanpur last Friday, ran out of luck after making a dramatic escape from the shootout site and then avoiding police dragnets for almost a week. He also faces dozens of other criminal cases.
After purchasing a ticket worth Rs 250 for VIP darshan of the deity, Dubey went to a shop selling flowers and prasad, where the seller, Suresh Mali, identified the gangster as he had seen his photos on news channels for the last few days, temple sources said.
An alert Mali immediately called constable Ghanshyam Mishra over the phone and informed him that a person looking like Dubey has arrived in the temple.
Mishra, in turn, alerted cops at the police post near the temple and also a private security guard, identified only as Rahul, about Dubey's presence. They also informed Mahakal Security Officer Ruby Yadav who kept a close watch on CCTV and identified Dubey from a mark on his forehead, a police official said.
Meanwhile, Dubey, unaware that the long arm of the law was fast closing on him, went inside the temple for a darshan of the deity. Just when he was coming out of the temple, Dubey was stopped at the exit gate by security personnel and cops and subsequently arrested, Ujjain SP Manoj Singh said.
The SP said when cops asked him about his real identity, he said, "I am Vikas Dubey, resident of Kanpur."
He was then taken to the Mahakal police station for questioning and senior police officials of both Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh were informed about his arrest.
"I was posted on the VVIP gate and discourse hall of the temple and when I got information that a person looking like Vikas Dubey was roaming in the temple premises. I went up to him and asked him to show his identity card, but he presented a fake ID," said constable Vijay Rathore. "I crossed checked that with his photos on WhatsApp and found him to be suspicious following which I informed senior officials about it and stopped him from going anywhere. He tried to run away by pushing me but I prevented him from doing so."
Before entering the temple, he asked a security guard, Gopal Kushwaha, to keep his bag and shoes in a locker room situated close to the gate of the shrine.
"I asked him to keep his bag on the rack which he did and moved on. Later, he was caught when he tried to run away," Kushwaha said.
Another security guard, Lakhan Yadav, said he was watching Dubey's movements in the temple premises for nearly two hours on CCTV. He first tried to enter inside the temple from the rear gate, Yadav said.
Madhya Pradesh home minister Narottam Mishra said, "A constable Ghanshyam (Mishra) posted in the temple got suspicious after spotting him. He called other security personnel and four of them then took Dubey aside to question him after which a number of other persons associated with the temple recognised him and subsequently, he was arrested."
"Besides, his two other associates Bittu and Suresh, too, were arrested," Mishra said.
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