A bullet fired by the occupants of a car involved in a road rage incident killed a retired army brigadier out on a morning walk on Mussoorie Road in Dehradun on Monday.

Mukesh Joshi, the 74-year-old ex-serviceman, was rushed to a hospital but died during treatment.

Police said an argument broke out between two groups of youths in a Delhi-registered Fortuner and a Scorpio N over right of passage. Matters came to a head when the Fortuner overtook the Scorpio, whose occupants allegedly chased the Toyota SUV and fired at its tyres, but a bullet struck Joshi.

Pramod Kumar, superintendent of police of Dehradun city, said: “The passengers in the Scorpio fired at the Fortuner. Joshi, a retired brigadier of the Indian Army and resident of Jakhan who was out on a morning walk, was hit by a bullet. He was rushed to a hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.”

Even after Joshi slumped on the road, the Scorpio kept chasing the Fortuner and the man riding shotgun continued firing, the police said. After a bullet hit the Fortuner’s tyre, the driver lost control of the vehicle and crashed into a roadside tree near the Government Primary School in Johri village.

Two youths got off the Scorpio, vandalised the Fortuner and assaulted the passengers, leaving two of them seriously injured.

A friend who was accompanying Joshi told reporters that the incident took place around 7am. “Youths gather here every day and race their cars. Sometimes they hit each other’s cars and get into a fight. The police know about this but turn a blind eye because the young men are children of senior administrative officers or rich businessmen,” he said.

“Joshi was part of several army operations, including the Kargil war,” he added.