Dehradun: Seven teams have been formed to nab the four fugitive suspects in the killing of a 74-year-old retired brigadier general, who was hit by a stray bullet during an exchange of gunfire between occupants of two cars engaged in a high-speed chase after a late-night brawl at a city club, police said on Tuesday.
“Seven teams have been formed to nab the four absconding accused in the case. They will be arrested soon,” Superintendent of Police (City) Pramod Kumar said.
Kumar said the police have intensified enforcement against drunk driving, riots, and found bars and pubs violating the rules or operating outside the specified working hours.
Meanwhile, on the instructions of Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, the in-charge of Kothal Gate Police Station and the Deputy Inspector of Excise have been suspended for their alleged negligence in Monday’s incident.
Those suspended with immediate effect are Assistant Inspector Ashok Kumar, in-charge of Kothal Gate, and Deputy Excise Inspector Suban Singh (Excise Range 3, Mussoorie).
On Monday, police arrested four people from two quarreling groups for committing the crime. They have been identified as Rohit Kumar (20), a resident of Uttam Nagar in Delhi, Muhammad Akhlaq (23), a resident of Bihar, club owner Sandeep Kumar (43), a resident of Nangloi in Delhi, and Aditya Chaudhary of the second group (20), a resident of Raipur in Dehradun.
Senior Police Inspector Bramendra Dubha dismissed speculation that road rage was behind the tragedy.
He added, “The passengers of the ship Scorpio waited outside the club until the early morning and then chased the ship Fortuner. During the shooting, the brigadier general, who was on a morning walk, was hit by a bullet in the chest.”
Police said the car lost control after the shooting and crashed into a tree near a government primary school in the village. Following the incident, the Scorpio’s occupants allegedly assaulted those inside the Fortuner and damaged the vehicle. Police added that two people traveling in the Fortuner were injured and were taken to the hospital.
The police registered a first information report (FIR) against unidentified persons under Section 103 (1) (murder) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) at Rajpur police station, based on Upreti’s complaint.
In his complaint, Upreti said they were on a morning walk when they arrived near a government primary school and noticed a white car and a black car approaching at high speed.
“Within minutes, a bullet was fired with intent to kill. The bullet hit my brother-in-law in the chest and he collapsed. He was bleeding profusely. With the help of SP Sharma and others, we took him to Max Hospital, where doctors declared him dead,” he said.
