Lucknow July 10 (PTI) The Uttar Pradesh STF on Friday said the official vehicle in which gangster Vikas Dubey was being brought to Kanpur overturned when a herd of cattle suddenly came in front of it.

According to a statement released by the STF, Dubey was being brought to Kanpur from Ujjain for appearance in a local court when the vehicle in which he was coming overturned in front of Kanhaiyalal Hospital on the national highway after a herd of cattle suddenly came in front of it.

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The vehicle overturned when the driver, who was tired, tried to avoid the cattle on the road, the STF said, adding that five policemen were seriously injured.

Dubey, who was sitting with them, tried to take advantage of the situation and snatched the pistol of injured Inspector Ramakant Pachauri and ran on the "kaccha" road.

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Deputy SP of the STF Tej Bahadur Singh who was coming in the other vehicle along with policemen ran after him, the statement said.

"Vikas opened fire indiscriminately at the police which had reached very close to nab him. In self defence, police opened fire in which Vikas Dubey got injured," the STF claimed.

He was given first aid and rushed to a government hospital, where doctors declared him dead, it said.

Head constable Shivendra Singh Sengar and constable Vimal Yadav of the STF were injured in the firing by Dubey, the statement added.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)