It reads as a scene lifted straight from a Hollywood or Bollywood action thriller — except that this time, it unfolded in real life.
Three days after being shot at close range, history-sheeter Vinay Tyagi succumbed to his injuries on Saturday morning at AIIMS Rishikesh, bringing a dramatic and violent end to a career steeped in crime.
Tyagi was allegedly being taken to court in Laksar on Wednesday when the police vehicle escorting him got stuck in a traffic jam.
That moment proved fatal. According to investigators, two former gang associates — Sunny Yadav and Ajay Sain, now under arrest — seized the opportunity and opened fire from close range.
Tyagi sustained gunshot wounds to his shoulder, hand and chest, suffered severe internal damage, and remained on ventilator support until his death.
After the post-mortem, police said the body would be handed over to the family.
A Criminal Past Spanning Decades
Originally from Muzaffarnagar and raised in Meerut, Tyagi had an extensive criminal record, with nearly 60 cases registered against him across Meerut, Muzaffarnagar, Haridwar, Ghaziabad, Delhi and Dehradun.
His alleged crimes ranged from murder, attempted murder and extortion to dacoity, along with offences under the Arms Act and the Gangster Act. His first known case — a kidnapping — dates back to 1985.
At the time of the shooting, Tyagi was already in custody in a forgery and fraud case.
Police maintain that the motive was internal gang rivalry. “Tyagi refused to share the loot.
The accused harboured revenge and planned his killing,” said Haridwar Rural SP Shekhar Chand Suyal. Investigators claim there is no evidence, so far, of any larger gang conspiracy.
The Unanswered Question: What Went Wrong With the Escort?
What has triggered widespread unease is not just the audacity of the attack, but the apparent inaction of the armed police escort.
Sources say the shooters fired from close range while the police personnel inside the vehicle remained unharmed.
Officers later claimed they were carrying long-range weapons, which were ineffective at such proximity, and that the crowded area prevented them from firing back.
Yet the question refuses to go away:
When the vehicle was immobilised in traffic, why was no attempt made to chase or neutralise at least one of the attackers?
Why did trained, armed personnel appear paralysed at a critical moment?
The answer has cost careers. Three police officers who were escorting Tyagi have since been suspended for alleged negligence.
A Familiar Script, A Stark Lesson
The killing comes at a time when authorities often cite improved law and order in parts of Uttar Pradesh, where several categories of organised crime are said to have declined.
Yet this episode underlines a troubling reality: while crime may be contained in some regions, elsewhere it continues unabated — bold, brutal, and cinematic in execution.
Police recovered a country-made pistol and a .32 bore firearm with three live cartridges from the accused, both residents of Kashipur in Udham Singh Nagar, who had earlier been jailed in a dacoity case allegedly involving Tyagi himself.
Tyagi’s family, meanwhile, has levelled serious allegations, claiming he was being framed in recent cases and that there had been a prior plan to kill him during a court transfer.
They have even alleged the involvement of the Uttarakhand Police — charges the authorities deny.
The Takeaway
Beyond the gang rivalry and the dramatic gunfight, the incident leaves behind a hard lesson for the system: escort duty is not ceremonial.
It demands personnel who are alert, agile, tactically trained, and mentally prepared to respond in seconds — not freeze in disbelief.
Because when real life begins to resemble a crime movie, hesitation can be the difference between control and catastrophe.
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