By Arun Pratap Singh
Garhwal Post Bureau
DEHRADUN, 27 Dec: Notorious gangster Vinay Tyagi, who was critically injured in a brazen daylight shooting in Laksar, died during treatment, on Saturday morning at AIIMS Rishikesh. Tyagi had been admitted to the institute on Christmas eve (Dec 24) and was kept on ventilator support in the Trauma ICU. Public Relations Officer of AIIMS, Shreelay Mohanty, confirmed that Tyagi had sustained multiple bullet injuries to the chest, arm and neck and was declared dead by the hospital administration at around 7 am on Saturday. On being informed, Haridwar police took custody of the body for inquest proceedings, while a post-mortem examination is underway at the institute.
The fatal incident took place on Wednesday last (Dec 24) when Tyagi was being escorted by police personnel from Roorkee Jail to the Laksar ACJM court for a court hearing. As the government vehicle Tata Sumo carrying Tyagi along with six police personnel, including the driver, reached the middle of a flyover in Laksar, it slowed down due to traffic congestion. Taking advantage of the situation, two bike-borne assailants, who were already lying in wait, opened indiscriminate fire on the vehicle. Tyagi was hit by three bullets and collapsed inside the vehicle, while two policemen sustained minor injuries. The attackers then fled the spot after brandishing their weapons, even as the area was crowded. The incident has raised serious questions on police security arrangements as Tyagi was in police custody at the time of the attack, and concerns have been voiced over how such a targeted assault could take place despite an official escort. Some experts demand that the police role should be investigated in the case.
After the incident, Tyagi was first taken to the Laksar Community Health Centre, from where he was referred to a higher medical centre after receiving primary treatment. Senior police officers, including Superintendent of Police (Rural) Shekhar Chand Suyal and Circle Officer Natasha Singh, had rushed to the spot soon after the incident. Videos showing the assailants fleeing the scene also went viral on social media, intensifying concerns over law and order in the area.
Following the attack, Haridwar police however, sealed the district and constituted special teams to trace the accused. The following day, on Christamas (Dec 25) both the alleged assailants were arrested from the forests near Sikanderpur village on the Bijnor highway under Khanpur police station limits. The accused have been identified as Sunny Yadav, alias Shera, aged 28, and Ajay, aged 24, residents of Kashipur in Udham Singh Nagar. Police said the duo had abandoned their motorcycle and gone into hiding and that both have several criminal cases registered against them.
SSP Haridwar, Pramendra Dobal stated that during interrogation the accused have confessed to the crime. Sunny Yadav claimed he was being repeatedly threatened by Tyagi over a financial dispute and had been keeping track of his movements for some time. On learning that Tyagi would be produced in the Laksar court on Dec 24, he allegedly planned the attack with the help of Ajay.
Meanwhile, it is learnt that Tyagi’s last rites will be performed in Meerut, where he owned a house in Jagriti Vihar, Sector 1. Family members have started gathering there and the body is expected to reach by evening. It may be recalled that Tyagi had received his education in Meerut and his father had served as a Superintendent at LLRM Medical College.
A history-sheeter with an extensive criminal background, Tyagi, also known as Tinku, hailed from Khaikheri village and he faced as many as 57 criminal cases across Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh. He was involved in several high-value property disputes in Meerut, Ghaziabad, Noida and Dehradun. He also nurtured political ambitions and had succeeded twice in getting his wife elected as Block Pramukh from the Purkaji block, while he himself contested the Assembly elections from the Deoband seat in Saharanpur, which he had lost however.
It may be recalled that Tyagi’s criminal career began in 1996 following a dispute related to a love affair in Khaikheri, which led to the murder of Sandeep, alias Tony and his brother-in-law Pradeep. Cases were registered against Tyagi at Chhapar, Purkaji and Nai Mandi police stations in Muzaffarnagar. In October this year, Dehradun police had booked him under the Gangster Act. Earlier, on September 14, a case was registered at Nehru Colony police station on the complaint of Pramod Tyagi regarding the theft of jewellery and cash from a vehicle. While his associate and BKU leader Hariom Tyagi was granted bail, Vinay Tyagi remained lodged in Roorkee Jail in connection with other cases. It may be reminded here that his bail plea was rejected by a court in Dehradun on October 30 this year.
