Gangster Vikas Dubey case has brought criminal-police nexus back in public focus. Vikas Dubey saw his rise in the underworld of Uttar Pradesh with his simultaneous bonding with political parties and their leaders.

He is said to have “friends” in all political parties that have come to power in the last 15 years in Uttar Pradesh. Even when he is on the run, Vikas Dubey has support among certain groups with some presenting as a Brahmin leader.

His relation with the police was so intricate that before the raiding team could reach his house in Kanpur, Vikas Dubey had got the reverse “tip-off” about the police movement. The cops were ambushed. Eight, including a DSP, of the police team lost their lives to bullets showered at them from the house of Vikas Dubey.

Now, more than 200 UP policemen are under investigation for possible links with Vikas Dubey. He stands accused of killing eight cops on July 3. It is another addition to the long list of charges against the Kanpur gangster.

But this case has highlighted not only the corruption within the police department but also the depth and degree of criminal-police nexus.

In November last year, in a survey conducted by the Transparency International India with LocalCircles, Uttar Pradesh police department had emerged as the most corrupt in the country. The survey showed corruption increased between 2018 and 2019.

Also, the State of Police in India Report showed last year that Uttar Pradesh had the highest number of cops – 68 per cent — who said they were not satisfied with their salary structure. This is perceived as the reason for rampant corruption in the department.

In Vikas Dubey’s case, he has been evading police investigation in a high profile case of the murder of a BJP leader Santosh Shukla. The crime was committed inside a police station in 2001. It has been 19 years and the state police failed to ensure justice to the victim.

All eyewitnesses in the case were cops and all turned hostile during the trial. Vikas Dubey was acquitted in the murder case for lack of proof. So, Shukla – a designated minister in UP – was murdered but no one killed him. No action was reportedly taken against eyewitness cops who turned hostile in court.

High-drama corruption charges against UP cops are not unusual. But most die their own death without reaching their logical conclusion. For example, in the past two years, two serious instances cropped up concerning Noida police.

First, a “rate card” of bribe went viral on social media in 2018. The department acted and disbanded the Special Operations Group of the Crime Branch. But no further remedial disciplinary action was followed up. In 2019, a police officer was suspended in Noida after he levelled corruption charges against five IPS officers.

Part of the blame lies with successive governments in Uttar Pradesh. The cumulative result is that the UP police appear less equipped with deal with criminals. They face the highest shortage of vehicles for patrolling and policing.

Almost 58 per cent of police personnel did not receive weapons training at the time their joining. This shows the department was not taken care of by various governments over the years.

Only recently, a UP cop had made headlines for mimicking gunfire in a live-action situation. Many in UP police say colluding with criminals come an easy way out for cops particularly in areas away from constant political and media glaze. Kanpur’s Vikas Dubey case is one such example of how it works in the state.