Dehradun witnessed a late-night encounter as police tracked down suspects linked to the murder of retired Brigadier Mukesh Kumar Joshi. During the operation, one of the accused opened fire on the police, forcing them to retaliate in self-defence. According to Senior Superintendent of Police Pramendra Dobhal, the encounter took place during a checking drive in Johri village under the Rajpur police station area.
Acting on specific inputs, police chased the suspects into the forest area near Guniyal village. During the pursuit, one suspect fired at the police team. In response, police returned fire, injuring the accused in his leg. He was immediately taken to a hospital for treatment. A pistol was recovered from the spot.
Two accused arrested, one injured
Police identified the arrested suspects as Mohammad Kavish Hussain Tyagi from Muzaffarnagar, who was injured in the encounter, and Shantanu Tyagi from Saharanpur. Senior officials rushed to the scene after the encounter, and forensic teams carried out an inspection.
The Dehradun nightclub bill clash
On the day of the incident, police had already arrested four individuals Sandeep Kumar, Rohit Kumar, Mohammad Akhlaq, and Aditya Chaudhary linked to the case. During interrogation, police uncovered details about other accused involved.
Authorities revealed that several suspects were travelling in two vehicles at the time of the crime. Shantanu Tyagi, Kavish Tyagi, Sameer Chaudhary, and Vaibhav were in a Scorpio SUV, while Aadesh Giri and Mohit Arora were travelling in a Fortuner.
The investigation found that the violence began late Sunday night at a nightclub named ‘Gen-Z.’ A dispute broke out when Aditya Chaudhary and his friends argued with the staff over a bill payment. The situation escalated when some club employees allegedly damaged Aditya’s Scorpio SUV, which reportedly did not have a number plate. Enraged, Aditya and his associates later waited for the staff to leave the club.
When the employees departed in a Fortuner the next morning, they were chased by the Scorpio. In an attempt to stop the vehicle, one of the accused opened fire. The occupants of the Fortuner fired back, leading to a gunfight on the road.
During the exchange of fire, retired Brigadier Mukesh Kumar Joshi, who was passing through the area, was hit by bullets and later died from his injuries. After the shootout, the Fortuner crashed into a tree. The attackers reportedly assaulted its occupants before fleeing.
Government orders crackdown
Taking the incident seriously, the Chief Minister ordered a statewide crackdown on criminal activities under ‘Operation Prahar.’ Two officials, including a police outpost in-charge and a deputy excise inspector, have been suspended in connection with the case.
