A routine morning walk turned fatal for a retired Army brigadier in Dehradun on Monday after he was caught in a crossfire between occupants of two cars who allegedly opened fire following a dispute over giving way on the road, police said.

The incident occurred in Johri village on Mussoorie Road in the Rajpur area early Monday when an argument over a passing manoeuvre broke out between the occupants of a Delhi-registered Fortuner and a Scorpio N, officials said.

According to the police, the Scorpio belonged to a resident of Uttarakhand, but since it was a newly purchased vehicle, it had not yet been assigned a registration number.

There were three to four people in each vehicle. Following the altercation, members of both groups allegedly opened fire at each other, Dehradun Superintendent of Police (City) Pramod Kumar told PTI.

Retired Army Brigadier Mukesh Joshi (74), who was out for his morning walk in the area, was caught in the crossfire. He was rushed to a hospital but later succumbed to his injuries, Kumar said.

The officer added that Joshi lived alone in a rented flat in the Jakhan area of the city, while his family members reside in Delhi and other places.

The Fortuner went out of control during the incident and crashed into a roadside tree near the Government Primary School in Johri. The occupants of the Scorpio then allegedly assaulted the men in the Fortuner and damaged their vehicle before fleeing the scene, the SP said.

The occupants of the Fortuner -- Akhlaq, Mohit and Aadesh -- have been taken into custody and are being interrogated.

"Initially, they attempted to mislead us by claiming that the occupants of the Scorpio had opened fire on them. However, during sustained questioning, they admitted that they too were armed and had retaliated," Kumar said.

He said roadblocks have been set up across the district, and an intensive search operation is underway to trace the occupants of the Scorpio. Eight to ten police teams have been formed to track down the suspects, who are expected to be apprehended soon.

Responding to rumours that the altercation began at a nightclub, Kumar said that, based on the interrogation so far, the dispute appears to have arisen solely from a road rage incident over overtaking.

"A clearer picture will emerge once the occupants of the Scorpio are also apprehended," he added.

Mohit, who was travelling in the Fortuner, told PTI Videos that he was driving home between 6 and 7 am when his vehicle moved slightly ahead of the Scorpio, which the other group allegedly took as an affront.

"They appeared to be intoxicated. After driving another kilometre, they came up right behind my car and two or three of them pulled out guns and opened fire," he claimed.

According to Mohit, the shooting caused him to lose control of the vehicle, which crashed into a tree. He alleged that the attackers then assaulted him with sticks, iron rods and baseball bats and vandalised his car.

He further claimed that the two others travelling with him fled the scene, while a passerby helped pull him out of the wrecked vehicle.