The Uttar Pradesh government on Saturday formed a Special Investigation Team to probe the deaths of eight policemen in a shootout in Kanpur last week and main accused Vikas Dubey’s criminal history.

The probe team will be headed by Uttar Pradesh Additional Chief Secretary Sanjay Bhoosreddy, the Uttar Pradesh government said in an order. The state government has directed the Special Investigation Team to submit its report in the case by July 31.

The Uttar Pradesh government said that the special team will investigate what action was taken against Dubey in connection with the criminal cases filed against him. The SIT will also probe how many police officers came into contact with Dubey over the last one year.

The state government added that the probe team will also investigate how Dubey and his aides got weapon licenses despite their criminal record.

The SIT formed by the Uttar Pradesh government will also examine whether there was a lapse on the part of the police in obtaining information about how many weapons Dubey had on the day of the encounter in Kanpur. An inquiry will be initiated into Dubey’s acquisition of properties.

Dubey was arrested in Madhya Pradesh’s Ujjain city on Thursday for the murder of eight policemen in a shootout in Kanpur’s Bikru village on July 3. He was killed in police custody on Friday morning.

Dubey had more than 60 criminal cases against him, including murder and extortion. He was arrested previously on many occasions but was not convicted in any of the cases. Five of his aides had been killed in the week between the shootout in Bikru and his arrest on Thursday.

On Saturday, the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad arrested another one of Dubey’s accomplices from Thane. The Uttar Pradesh Police, on the other hand, arrested two men from Madhya Pradesh’s Gwalior city on Friday for allegedly providing shelter to Dubey’s aides.