Two accomplices of gangster Vikas Dubey were shot dead by the state police in two separate encounters on Thursday morning. Prabhat Mishra alias Kartikeya had been arrested in Faridabad on Wednesday by a team of the Special Task Force (STF) and was being brought to Kanpur on transit remand. "Our vehicle was in the Panki area in Kanpur when it developed a snag. As the vehicle was being repaired, Prabhat Mishra tried to snatch the pistol of an inspector and opened fire at the STF team. He was shot dead in retaliatory firing," said an STF official.

Another Vikas Dubey accomplice, Ranvir alias Bauan Shukla, was shot dead by the STF in Etawah while he was allegedly trying to flee in a car. Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Etawah Akash Tomar said that they had received a tip-off that a Swift Desire with a Delhi registration number was moving in a suspicious manner.

"When we tried to intercept the car in the Civil Lines area, the miscreants opened fire at the police. Bauan Shukla was killed in retaliatory firing. Three other miscreants who were following in a Scorpio managed to flee. We have cordoned off the area and a search is on for them," he said. The SSP said that a pistol, a double barrel gun and some ammunition has been seized from the miscreant.

Bauan Shukla carried a reward of Rs 50,000 on his head and was involved in firing on policemen on July 3 that left eight police personnel dead in Bikru village.

Earlier on Wednesday, Dubey's trusted lieutenant, Amar Dubey, who was also his nephew, was killed in an encounter in Maudaha in Hamirpur district.

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