Gangster Vikas Dubey, who is wanted in connection with the deadly Kanpur ambush, was spotted at a hotel in Haryana's Faridabad but gave police the slip, officials said on Wednesday.
Three people closed to Dubey were arrested from Faridabad in a joint operation by the Uttar Pradesh STF and local crime branch team.
They were identified as Ankur, Shravan and Kartikey alias Prabhat, a senior official said.
Dubey had tried to book a room at a hotel in Faridabad on Tuesday night, whose CCTV footage went viral.
However, he managed to flee, officials said.
Police recovered four pistols from the three arrested people including the two taken away from slain policemen in Kanpur.
Dubey is the main accused in the ambush in Bikru village in Chaubeypur area of Kanpur in which eight policemen were killed on July 3.
Meanwhile, The Uttar Pradesh government has increased the reward for the arrest of gangster Vikas Dubey from Rs 2.5 lakh to Rs 5 lakh, officials said on Wednesday.
"Cash reward for the arrest of Vikas Dubey has been increased to Rs 5 lakh. It would be given to those providing information about him," Additional Chief Secretary, Awanish Kumar Awasthi said.
