Daijiworld Media Network - Haridwar

Haridwar, Dec 28: Gangster Vinay Tyagi succumbed to bullet injuries at a hospital here on Saturday, three days after he was shot while being taken to court by police, officials said. His family has accused the police of complicity in his killing and demanded a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the incident.

Police said Tyagi was being escorted from Roorkee jail to the Laksar court for a hearing on Wednesday when two bike-borne assailants allegedly opened fire on the police vehicle near the Laksar flyover. Tyagi was hit by three bullets, while two policemen were also injured in the attack.

Tyagi, said to be a member of the notorious Sunil Rathi gang, was admitted to AIIMS-Rishikesh in critical condition and died on Saturday morning. Police arrested both attackers on Thursday and claimed that they confessed to killing Tyagi due to personal rivalry.
Haridwar Senior Superintendent of Police Pramendra Singh Dobhal identified the accused as Sunny Yadav and Ajay, adding that both have now been booked for murder following Tyagi’s death.

Meanwhile, Tyagi’s sister Seema Tyagi, who was present at AIIMS-Rishikesh, alleged that her brother died due to deliberate negligence in medical treatment to suppress the “truth”. She claimed that Tyagi had expressed suspicion of a conspiracy while undergoing treatment and alleged police involvement in the matter.

Seema further claimed that Tyagi had named a doctor and a prominent contractor from Dehradun, accusing them of conspiring to seize his properties worth crores of rupees. “First, they sent Vinay to jail on false charges. Later, they held his wife hostage for two days and released her only after forcing her to transfer land worth crores to their names,” she told reporters.

She also alleged that Tyagi’s wife’s life was in danger and demanded security for the family along with a CBI inquiry into the entire episode.

The Tyagi Mahasabha termed the death suspicious and alleged it was a murder carried out with police connivance. Mahasabha office-bearer Praveen Tyagi claimed that police got criminals to kill Vinay Tyagi to avoid a direct police encounter.

A native of Khaikhedi village in Muzaffarnagar district of Uttar Pradesh, Vinay Tyagi had a long criminal history, with alleged involvement in 57 serious cases, including murder, attempt to murder, extortion, robbery, theft and fraud across Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.

His wife has served twice as the head of the Purkazi block in Muzaffarnagar and had also contested the Deoband Assembly constituency election as an Independent candidate.

Sources said Tyagi had amassed vast wealth through criminal activities and owned benami properties worth crores in Delhi, Meerut, Muzaffarnagar and other locations. Police investigation revealed that one of the accused shooters, Sunny Yadav, had previously worked for Tyagi and was a murder convict who was out on parole at the time of the shooting.