Journalist in critical condition after being shot at in UP's Ghaziabad district; nine arrested so far

Ghaziabad: A Ghaziabad-based journalist was hospitalised after he was shot at by some assailants near his home and nine people have been arrested so far in connection with the case, police said on Tuesday. 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 16 July. Joshi was returning home in the Vijay Nagar area with his daughters on a motorcycle when he was waylaid by over half a dozen armed men at around 10.30 pm on Monday, officials said. The journalist was shot in the head by one of the accused, who then fled the spot, leaving him severely injured. He was taken to a hospital where he is in a critical condition, they said. Senior Superintendent of Police, Ghaziabad, Kalanidhi Naithani said nine people, including two of the three named in the FIR, have been arrested while the local police post in-charge was suspended in the wake of the incident. The FIR was registered under Indian Penal Code sections 307 (attempted murder), 506 (criminal intimidation) and 34 (act done by several people with a common intention) on complaint by Joshi’s brother Aniket Joshi, Naithani said. The FIR had three named suspects Chhotu, Akash Bihari and Ravi besides some unidentified people. Chhotu and Ravi have been arrested, while searches are underway to nab Akash and six police teams are working on the case, he added. The police have also arrested Mohit, Dalbir, Akash, Yogendra, Abhishek, Abhishek and Shaqir based on evidence in connection with the case, Naithani added. In his complaint lodged at the Vijay Nagar police post, Joshi had named Chhotu, Ravi and Akash, his family alleged. The journalist was given a life threat by the accused men, according to the allegations made in the FIR. The family has alleged inadequate action by the local police post in-charge, who has been suspended with immediate effect considering the gravity of the matter. A departmental inquiry has been ordered and the local Circle Officer will probe the matter, SSP Naithani said. Meanwhile, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra attacked the Uttar Pradesh government over the law-and-order situation in the state following the incident. “Ghaziabad falls in NCR. Going by the state of law and order here, one can get an idea of the situation in the entire state of Uttar Pradesh. A journalist was shot at because he complained to the police against molestation of his niece. How will common man feel safe in such a jungle raj,” she said in a tweet in Hindi.