The Uttarakhand Police have arrested all three suspects involved in the recent shooting incident outside Doon Hospital in Dehradun. The arrests were made after an overnight chase that began with a police encounter near Doiwala village on Wednesday night. Two of the accused were injured in the exchange of fire, while the third, who managed to escape initially, was caught early on Thursday morning after a widespread search operation.
According to the police, the arrested men — Sohail Khan (25), Sanu (23), and Javed (30) — are members of a gang that carried out the October 18 shooting in which a 24-year-old man named Dishant was injured. Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Ajai Singh confirmed that the shooting was linked to a financial dispute involving two other men, Rohan Arya and Vishal Tomar, who were already arrested earlier in connection with the same case.
The SSP said that the arrests followed a quick and coordinated police response to a tip-off received late Wednesday night. The Dehradun control room had been alerted about “three suspicious people riding a white scooter with a mud-smeared number plate heading from Chhidarwala towards Laltappad.” Acting on this information, teams from the Doiwala police station immediately set up roadblocks and began checking vehicles on the route.
As soon as the suspects spotted the police barricade, they attempted to escape. They turned their scooter around and sped through a forest path near Kali Temple to avoid capture. The police team gave chase for about 100 metres into the forested area. During the pursuit, the suspects opened fire on the police officers.
“In retaliation and in self-defence, the police team fired back,” SSP Ajai Singh said. “During the exchange of gunfire, two suspects, Sohail Khan and Sanu, suffered bullet injuries on their legs.”
The injured suspects were quickly overpowered by the police and taken to a nearby hospital for medical treatment. Officers then recovered two country-made 315-bore pistols, four live cartridges, two empty shells, one knife, and the scooter used in the crime.
During interrogation, both Sohail and Sanu admitted their involvement in the shooting outside Doon Hospital. They told investigators that the attack on Dishant was carried out on the instructions of one Kavyansh Dhama, who had an ongoing monetary dispute with the victim. Police said the suspects had been hiding in different areas since the incident to avoid arrest.
SSP Singh added that the arrests marked a major breakthrough in the case. “We had already arrested two men, Rohan Arya and Vishal Tomar, earlier for their role in planning the attack. The arrest of these three now completes the circle of suspects directly involved in the shooting,” he said.
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While two of the accused were captured during the encounter, the third suspect, Javed (30), managed to escape into the forest under cover of darkness. Police immediately launched an extensive night-long search operation in the Doiwala region, deploying multiple teams to comb the surrounding villages and forest tracks.
The search finally paid off early Thursday morning when police arrested Javed near Doiwala after receiving a local tip-off about his movement in the area. “The third accused, Javed, who is a resident of Saharanpur, was apprehended during the pre-dawn operation,” SSP Singh confirmed.
Following the arrests, a new case was registered at the Doiwala police station under Section 109 (attempt to murder) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and relevant provisions of the Arms Act. Police said the three accused would be questioned further to uncover details about their weapons and other associates.
So far, five people have been arrested in connection with the case, including the two men previously caught for planning the attack. Investigators are now focusing on tracing the source of the illegal firearms used in the crime. SSP Singh said that the police are also trying to identify others who may have supplied weapons to the gang or helped them hide after the shooting.
Officials said the accused were part of a small criminal group operating in the Dehradun region and were involved in illegal activities for financial gain. The gang had reportedly been using fake number plates and moving frequently to different places to evade capture.
The police team involved in the operation has been praised for its quick action and coordination, which led to the arrests without any loss of life despite an exchange of gunfire. The SSP added that the department remains committed to cracking down on illegal weapons and gang-related crimes in the district.
Residents in Dehradun have welcomed the swift action by the police, saying it restored a sense of safety after the shocking hospital shooting. The incident had caused panic earlier this month when gunfire broke out near a busy area outside Doon Hospital. With the latest arrests, police officials believe they have dismantled the gang behind the attack and prevented further criminal activities.
The investigation is continuing as the authorities work to uncover more about the gang’s network, their links with illegal arms suppliers, and any other pending disputes that could lead to similar violent incidents in the future.
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