Gangster Vinay Tyagi died of bullet injuries at a hospital here on Saturday, three days after he was shot while being taken to court by the police, officials said.
His family alleged police involvement in his killing and demanded a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the incident.
Police said Tyagi was being taken from Roorkee jail to a court in Laksar for a hearing on Wednesday when two bikers allegedly opened fire on the police vehicle near the Laksar flyover, hitting Tyagi. Two policemen were also injured in the firing, police said.
According to police, Tyagi, a member of the notorious Sunil Rathi gang, suffered three gunshot wounds and was admitted to AIIMS-Rishikesh in critical condition. He died on Saturday morning.
Police have detained both attackers on Thursday and claimed they confessed to killing Tyagi due to personal rivalry.
Haridwar Senior Superintendent of Police Pramendra Singh Dobhal identified the attackers as Sunny Yadav and Ajay, adding that both have been booked for murder following Tyagi’s death.
Tyagi’s sister, Seema Tyagi, who was present at AIIMS-Rishikesh, alleged that her brother died due to deliberate negligence in treatment to suppress the “truth.”
She also claimed that her sister-in-law’s life is in danger and sought security for the family along with a CBI probe into the incident. Seema said Tyagi had expressed fears of a conspiracy while he was hospitalised and had alleged police involvement in the incident.
She claimed that Tyagi had named a doctor and a prominent contractor from Dehradun, accusing them of plotting to seize his properties worth crores of rupees.
“First, these two sent Vinay to jail on false charges. After that, they held Vinay's wife hostage for two days and released her only after forcing her to transfer the ownership of land worth crores of rupees to their names,” Seema told mediapersons.
The Tyagi Mahasabha also termed the gangster’s death suspicious and alleged that it was a murder carried out with police connivance.
Praveen Tyagi, an office-bearer of the Mahasabha, alleged that the police got criminals to kill Tyagi to avoid a direct police encounter.
Vinay Tyagi, a resident of Khaikhedi village in Muzaffarnagar district of Uttar Pradesh, had a long criminal record with alleged involvement in 57 serious cases, including murder, attempted murder, extortion, robbery, theft and fraud, registered in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
His wife has served twice as head of the Purkazi block in Muzaffarnagar and had once contested the Deoband Assembly seat as an Independent candidate.
Sources said Tyagi had accumulated huge wealth through criminal activities and owned benami properties worth crores in Delhi, Meerut, Muzaffarnagar and other places.
Police said that one of the alleged shooters, Sunny Yadav, had earlier worked for Tyagi. Yadav is a murder convict and was out on parole at the time of the shooting, police added.
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