LUCKNOW: Two days after eight policemen were killed by criminals in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh Police on Saturday suspended a station officer for his alleged connivance in the killing of eight of his colleagues. Vinay Tiwari, the SO of the Chaubeypur Police Station, has been suspended.

Police on Saturday also demolished the lavish hideout in Bikru village, the scene of the bloody crime.

After the deadly encounter, 25 police teams fanned out across Uttar Pradesh and other states to hunt down Dubey, wanted in 60 criminal cases, and his associates, as reported by a news agency. Thirty people have been detained for questioning. Dubey may have fled to Nepal or taken shelter in a neighbouring state, according to officials.

On Friday midnight, while the police were going to arrest notorious local criminal Vikas Dubey, they were ambushed in Bikru village under Chaubeypur police station limits. The attackers had fled, snatching weapons from the dead and the wounded policemen.

The eight men killed in the line of duty, mostly in their 20s and 30s, included Deputy Superintendent of Police Devendra Mishra (54).

The others are Mahesh Kumar Yadav (42), Sub-Inspector Anoop Kumar Singh (32), Sub-Inspector Nebu Lal (48) and Constables Jitendra Pal (26), Sultan Singh (34), Bablu Kumar (23) and Rahul Kumar (24). Their bodies were taken back to their homes where senior police officers attended their last rites. Seven others, including a civilian, were injured in the attack that took place in the dead of night on Thursday.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had rushed to Kanpur on Friday to meet the family members of the slain policemen and announced financial assistance of Rs 1 crore each to the bereaved families.