- A retired 74-year-old Army brigadier was killed after being hit by a stray bullet in Dehradun
- Hours before he was hit, two groups had fought over a bill at a nightclub
- Accused were chasing other accused in a car when one of them opened fire, hitting ex-Brigadier Mukesh Joshi
Hours before a retired Army brigadier, Mukesh Kumar Joshi, was killed by a stray bullet in Uttarakhand's Dehradun on Monday, two groups had fought over a bill at a nightclub.
The argument broke out at a nightclub, 'Zen-G', between Aditya Chaudhary and Mohit Agarwal, an employee at the club, Dehradun Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Pramendra Singh Dobal told a press conference on Monday evening.
It escalated when Mohit and two other staff members allegedly smashed the windows of Chaudhary's new Scorpio N car.
Chaudhary then left the club and waited nearby with his friends to confront the staff.
When Mohit and other employees left the club in their employer's Delhi-registered Fortuner in the morning, Chaudhary and his friends chased them.
During the chase, one of Chaudhary's associates, Shantanu Tyagi, fired at the Fortuner to force it to stop, triggering an exchange of fire between the two groups.
A video has also surfaced showing the black-coloured Scorpio N chasing the white Fortuner.
One of the bullets then struck 74-year-old retired Brigadier Mukesh Kumar Joshi, who was out for a morning walk with his friends.
He later died in hospital.
The Fortuner then went out of control and crashed into a roadside tree, following which Aditya and his friends thrashed people in the SUV, including Rohit Kumar and Akhlaq.
Aditya and his group then hid their Scorpio N on a forested stretch and fled.
The police then received a phone call about the "road rage" incident and began investigation.
During the probe, they took Rohit and Akhlaq into custody for questioning. They initially claimed the shooting was carried out by the occupants of the Scorpio N following a dispute over overtaking. They later admitted to possessing weapons themselves and confessed to having opened fire as well.
Police later recovered the Scorpio N from a forested stretch along Thano Road and seized both vehicles.
Two country-made pistols, four live cartridges and two spent shells were also recovered.
Four people, including Aditya Chaudhary, nightclub owner Sandeep Kumar, Rohit Kumar and Akhlaq, have been arrested.
Kumar's nightclub, which remained open through the night in violation of rules, has been sealed, Dobal said.
Several accused who were in the Scorpio N -- Shantanu Tyagi, Kavish Tyagi, Sameer Chaudhary and Vaibhav -- are currently on the run.
Dobal said that the Scorpio N occupants are predominantly students from Delhi and Bihar, who are currently studying in Dehradun.
