my uttarakhand news Bureau
Dehradun, 23 Feb: The Special Task Force (STF) of Uttarakhand, and the Dehradun district police, have jointly unravelled the conspiracy behind the sensational murder of gangster Vikram Sharma at Silver City Mall in Dehradun. The STF and the Doon Police have arrested two accused from different states and claim to have intensified efforts to nab the remaining absconders in the case. In this regard, SSP, Dehradun, Pramendra Dobhal, and SSP STF Ajai Singh jointly held a press briefing in respect of the latest developments in the case. The breakthrough in this case has come after the daylight murder inside the busy commercial complex had triggered widespread concern over organised criminal activity in the state capital.
According to Dobhal and Singh, the conspiracy to eliminate Sharma had been meticulously planned several months in advance. Investigations have revealed that the accused initially attempted to execute the murder in Jamshedpur and Noida, where Sharma was known to frequently travel. However, their plans reportedly failed on those occasions as he was consistently accompanied by multiple associates, leaving little opportunity for a successful attack. Determined to find a vulnerability in his routine, one of the conspirators allegedly began working at the very gym frequented by Sharma nearly three months prior to the incident, enabling the group to closely monitor his movements and daily schedule.
On 13 February, the accused who had infiltrated the gym is said to have alerted his associates over the telephone about Sharma’s presence at the facility located inside Silver City Mall. As Sharma exited the gym premises, the assailants who had reached the spot on a bike and a scooty hired from Haridwar, opened fire, fatally injuring him before fleeing the scene. The daring daylight attack inside Silver City Mall had sent shockwaves through the city and intensified scrutiny of urban security arrangements.
Dobhal and Singh also shared that the accused had arranged their escape in advance, hiring a scooter and a motorcycle from Haridwar to facilitate a swift getaway and to complicate efforts to trace them. Following the incident, investigators relied extensively on CCTV footage from the mall, nearby establishments and traffic junctions, in addition to technical surveillance and call detail records, to reconstruct the sequence of events. Digital tracking and coordinated inter-State intelligence inputs led the police teams to conduct raids in Jamshedpur and Noida, culminating in the arrest of two accused identified as Akshat Thakur and Rajkumar.
According to the STF and Dehradun Police, enquiries into the background of the deceased Vikram Sharma revealed that he had a criminal background and was also a notorious criminal from Jharkhand. He had allegedly been involved, along with his associates, in several serious offences in Jharkhand, including high-profile murders, attempts to murder and cases of extortion. Multiple criminal cases had been registered against him in the past, and at the time of the incident he was reportedly out on bail in connection with several such matters.
During the course of investigation, it also came to light that around eight years ago Vikram Sharma had been arrested from Dehradun by Jamshedpur Police in connection with a murder case registered in Jharkhand. In relation to the present incident, a written complaint submitted by Akhilesh Singh, an acquaintance of the deceased, led to the registration of a case of murder under relevant sections against unknown accused persons at Dalanwala Police Station.
In view of the deceased’s criminal background and his links to Jharkhand, the police considered the possibility of the involvement of a gang from Jharkhand and initiated a detailed investigation into all conceivable angles of the case. On the directions of the SSP Dehradun, separate teams were constituted to ensure an early breakthrough in the matter.
The teams examined CCTV footage from the scene of the crime and surrounding areas and simultaneously gathered information regarding the accused persons through technical surveillance. Analysis of the CCTV footage revealed that three motorcycle-borne assailants had carried out the attack. Thereafter, the motorcycle used in the crime was abandoned in the Sahastradhara area, following which the accused proceeded towards Haridwar on another motorcycle and a scooter that had been stationed there in advance. Police received information that the three accused had fled from Haridwar in a black Scorpio vehicle bearing registration number JH-05-DZ-5517.
On verifying the vehicle details, it was found to be registered in the name of Yashraj, proprietor of Sarika Enterprises, Jamshedpur. A police team was immediately dispatched to Jamshedpur, where Rajkumar, son of Shivdatt and resident of Garabas Bagh Beda, Jamshedpur, Jharkhand, was arrested from his residence on 19 February 2026. During initial interrogation, Rajkumar disclosed that Yashraj, the registered owner of the Scorpio, was his son and that the vehicle had been taken by Yashraj’s associate Ashutosh and his accomplices.
Based on this information, the police gathered further intelligence through surveillance and other means regarding Ashutosh and his associates. CCTV cameras installed along various routes were also examined to trace the vehicle. On the morning of 23 February 2026, the police recovered the Scorpio used in the crime from Alpha-2 Apartments in the Greater Noida area, from the possession of Mohit alias Akshat Thakur, son of Prabhas Thakur and resident of Baba Baruda Apartment, Flat No B-8, Jugsalai, Jamshedpur, Jharkhand. Mohit alias Akshat was taken into custody on suspicion and brought to Dehradun for questioning. During interrogation, it emerged that Ashutosh, along with his associates Ankit Verma, Vishal Singh, Akash and others, had executed the crime. Upon finding evidence of Mohit’s involvement as well, he was formally arrested.
During interrogation, it was revealed that the accused allegedly harboured a long-standing enmity with Sharma. It may be recalled that Vikram Sharma himself had a criminal background and had been named in multiple cases in the past and these could be factors which are likely to have contributed to the rivalry culminating in the fatal attack. The police claimed that the motive appears to be linked to previous disputes, though further investigation is under way to ascertain the broader network and potential financial or territorial conflicts behind the conspiracy.
SSP Pramendra Dobhal has announced a bounty of Rs 25,000 each on six remaining accused who are still at large. The absconding individuals have been identified as Ankit Verma, Ashutosh Singh and Vishal Singh, residents of Jamshedpur in Jharkhand, along with Akash Kumar, Yashraj and Jitendra. Police teams have been deployed to multiple locations and searches are continuing to secure their arrest.
The Police have claimed that stringent action will be taken against all those involved and that the case underlines the importance of enhanced coordination between state agencies to curb inter-state criminal networks.
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