The attack comes days after Vikram Joshi, who works with a local daily, lodged a complaint at the local Vijay Nagar police post against some people for harassing his niece on July 16.
Four days after he filed a complaint against some men for allegedly molesting his niece, a Ghaziabad-based journalist was shot in the head in front of his daughters on Monday night by allegedly the same group of men, the police said. The police have arrested nine people so far.
According to the police, the journalist, Vikram Joshi works for Jan Sagar Today. He was on a scooter with his two daughters in Pratap Vihar area on Monday night when he was cornered by a group of men who assaulted and later shot at him. He was rushed to Yashoda Hospital where he is currently in a critical condition in the ICU, the police said.
“We received information around 10.45 pm that a Pratap Vihar based journalist Vikram has been shot at. Senior officers rushed to the spot and the victim was admitted to the hospital. Within a few hours, five persons were taken into custody and in the afternoon, four more were arrested. The main accused, Ravi, also a resident of Pratap Vihar, confessed to us that he orchestrated the attack and carried out it with his accomplices. Further investigation is pending”, said Kalanidhi Naithani, SSP Ghaziabad.
In CCTV footage of the alleged incident, Joshi can be seen on a two-wheeler with his daughters when it suddenly loses balance. A group of people are then seen assaulting and beating him. In the middle of the assault, an accused shoots at him as he falls to the ground. As the accused leave, one of his daughters rushes back to him, asking passersby for help.
The police have arrested nine people so far in the case — Ravi, Vijay, Mohit, Dalveer, Aakash, Yogendra, Abhishek, Abhishek and Shakir. Ravi is the main accused. The police said Joshi had an old rivalry with the Ravi and there had been disputes between the two in the past as well.
SSP Naithani suspended a sub-inspector and booth in-charge on Tuesday after Joshi’s family members alleged that the police did not investigate the matter. An enquiry has been set up under a DSP rank officer to ascertain delay in action.
“We were told by locals that Vikram has been cornered by a group of people near the water tank in the area. These are the same people who had been passing lewd comments on one of our relatives and had been harassing her. We had given a complaint and no arrests had been made. My brother is now fighting for his life,” said Joshi’s brother, Aniket.
UP Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi hit out at the state government over the incident. “Ghaziabad is in NCR. If the law and order here is such, one can guess how it must be in the entire state. One journalist was shot because he complained against the eve teasing of his niece. How can a common man be safe in this ‘jungle raj’,” she tweeted.
Source: The Indian Express
