3 min readDehradunUpdated: Mar 30, 2026 07:53 PM IST
Three friends were out on their customary morning walk in Dehradun early on Monday morning when one of them was suddenly struck by a stray bullet as two SUVs sped past. Retired Brigadier M K Joshi, the 74-year-old who was struck by the bullet, was immediately taken to the hospital, where he was declared dead.
S P Sharma, a retired professional who lived in the same residential society as Brigadier Joshi, was with him when the incident took place. He said they had started their morning walk at around 6.30 am and were strolling on Malso Road. The Brigadier’s brother-in-law, Rakesh Upreti, was also with them.
“We saw the two vehicles zooming at us at an extremely high speed. Alarmed, we moved towards the side of the road. After a moment, there was a loud noise, and the next thing we saw was the Brigadier on the ground. We thought he was having a heart attack, but then we saw his sweater had been pierced by something. Once we removed three layers of his clothes, we saw the gunshot wound,” said Sharma.
They hailed another vehicle that was passing by, which took them to the hospital. “However, he was unresponsive. His eyes were shut, and he showed no signs of consciousness,” Sharma added.
According to police, the incident took place around 6.40 am, when a dispute between occupants of two cars over giving way led to an argument and a chase. Police said that during the chase, those inside one of the cars opened fire at the tyres of the other vehicle in an attempt to stop it. However, the bullet hit Brigadier Joshi.
The accused did not stop at the spot. “The gun was fired from a distance of 150 metres from where we were standing,” Sharma recalled.
Brigadier Joshi, who served in the intelligence wing and the Prime Minister’s Office, has a son in the Navy and a daughter working in the media. His father had served as the ADM of Dehradun.
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A postmortem examination has been conducted, and the body has been moved to the military hospital. The family said cremation will be undertaken after his son, who is currently in Mauritius, arrives.
Sharma said rising crime was forcing his family to consider moving out of Dehradun. “Dehradun is no longer a city free of crime. There is no checking or patrolling in the area. We are considering leaving for somewhere else,” he said. In their residential society, the Brigadier was the president of their RWA, and Sharma is the secretary.
An FIR has been registered under sections of murder against unknown accused based on a complaint filed by Brigadier Joshi’s brother-in-law, Rakesh Upreti.
The occupants of the car from which the shot was fired later assaulted those in the car they were chasing. The assaulted men have been hospitalised, police said. The accused fled the scene and have not yet been identified.
