Gangster dies of gunshot wounds in Uttarakhand; family alleges police connivance to grab property

Gangster Vinay Tyagi succumbed to gunshot wounds at the hospital here on Saturday, December 27, 2025, three days after police fired at him while he was being produced in court, officials said.

His family accused the police of being complicit in the murder and demanded a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) investigation into the death.

Police said Tyagi was being taken from Roorkee jail to Laksar court for hearing on Wednesday when two bikers allegedly opened fire on the police vehicle near the Laksar flyover and hit Tyagi.

It was stated that 2 police officers were also injured in the conflict.

According to police, Tyagi, a member of the notorious Sunil Rathi gang, sustained three bullet injuries and was admitted to AIIMS-Rishikesh in a critical condition, where he died on Saturday morning.

Police arrested both attackers on Thursday and obtained a confession; Accordingly, they killed Tyagi due to a personal rivalry.

Haridwar Senior Police Inspector Pramendra Singh Dobhal identified the attackers as Sunny Yadav and Ajay and said both were arrested for murder after Tyagi’s death.

Tyagi’s sister Seema Tyagi, who is based at AIIMS-Rishikesh, claimed that his death was due to deliberate negligence in treatment to hide the “truth”.

Ms. Seema said her sister-in-law’s life was also in danger and demanded that their family’s safety be ensured and a CBI probe into the entire matter.

He said that while in hospital, Tyagi expressed suspicion of a conspiracy and claimed police complicity in the incident.

He said he named a doctor and a leading contractor from Dehradun and accused them of conspiring to seize his properties worth billions of dollars.

“First, these two sent Vinay to jail on fake charges. After that, they kept Vinay’s wife hostage for two days and released her only after forcing her to transfer the ownership of land worth millions of rupees to their name,” Ms. Seema told reporters.

Tyagi Mahasabha also termed the gangster’s death as suspicious and said it was a murder committed with the connivance of the police.

“The police got the criminals to kill Tyagi to avoid encountering the police,” said Praveen Tyagi, an office-bearer of the Mahasabha. he said.

Vinay Tyagi, a native of Khaikhedi village in Muzaffarnagar district of Uttar Pradesh, had a long criminal history, where he was allegedly involved in 57 serious criminal cases, including murder, attempt to murder, extortion, robbery, theft and fraud, filed in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.

His wife was twice president of Purkazi block in UP’s Muzaffarnagar district and once contested the election as an Independent candidate from the state’s Deoband Assembly constituency.

Sources familiar with the matter said Tyagi amassed enormous wealth from proceeds of crime and owned benami properties worth billions in Delhi, Meerut, Muzaffarnagar and other places.

According to police investigation, Sunny Yadav, one of the two criminals who allegedly shot Vinay Tyagi in Laksar, was working for him earlier.

Mr. Yadav is a murder convict and was out on parole at the time of the shooting.