India: Journalist shot in front of daughters near Delhi, incident caught on CCTV
The journalist had filed a police complaint against some men, for harassing his niece
Dubai: Last night, an Indian journalist in the state of Uttar Pradesh, was shot at by assailants, in front of his two daughters. Apparently, the attack came after he had lodged a police complaint against some men, for harassing his niece on July 16. The video of the attack went viral on Twitter with Indian tweeps questioning the state of law and order in the country, and especially in the state.
According to Indian media reports, Vikram Joshi, the victim was hospitalised, and nine people were arrested in connection with the case today, the police said.
Twitter user @IndiaAwakened_ shared the video and wrote: “Journalist Vikram Joshi is critical after being shot in the head, by men said to be molesting his niece. He had recently filed police complaint against the molester. He was with daughters during the attack. Police ignored his complaint.”
Reportedly, Joshi was returning home in the Vijay Nagar area with his two daughters on a motorcycle when he was ambushed by over half a dozen armed men, at around 10.30pm on Monday, police officials said.
The journalist was then shot in the head by one of the accused, who fled the spot, leaving him severely injured.
A viral video showed one of his daughters running to him and kneeling by his side, waiting for help, before a crowd gathered.
Joshi was taken to a hospital where he is in a critical condition, the police said.
Senior Superintendent of Police, Ghaziabad, Kalanidhi Naithani said nine people, including two of the three named in the First Information Report (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.
Allegedly, the journalist had also received death threats by the accused, according to a report by the Indian news agency, Press Trust of India (PTI). “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 was ordered,” Kalanidhi Naithani added.
Meanwhile, Twitter users and Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, of the opposition party, attacked the Uttar Pradesh government over the law-and-order situation in the state following the incident.
"Going by the state of law and order here, one can get an idea of the situation in the entire state of UP. 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[law of the jungle]?" Gandhi asked in a tweet in Hindi.