GHAZIABAD: A journalist in his mid-30s returning home on a bike with his two daughters aged 5 and 11 was ambushed by a gang of nine men, pummelled against a parked car, and shot in the back of his head in a bone-chilling 25-second frenzy of violence on Monday night.
In
CCTV footage
of the attack in Vijay Nagar’s Mata Colony area that police have retrieved is also the heart-rending sight of the 11-year-old running to her father after seeing him being shot barely 10 metres away. She tries to shake him awake and cries out to passersby for help, standing with her hands on her head and then sitting down beside him, sobbing. It was she who called the family from a mobile. Her sister is not visible in the footage after she ran in panic when the gang hustled them off the bike.
Kin say Ghaziabad journalist had complained to police before attackThis might not have happened had the days and hours preceding the shooting not seen a series of glaring policing lapses, which opposition parties cited to criticise the BJP government in UP on law and order. The attack on
Vikram Joshi
(35), who worked with a local Hindi newspaper, was allegedly retribution for a
sexual harassment complaint
he had filed with the police against Ravi, the main accused in the case, on July 16. Ravi had allegedly harassed Joshi’s 17-year-old niece when she had gone out to buy groceries and beaten up her younger brother when he objected. Joshi later confronted him and the two had a fight, according to investigators. Police, however, did not file an FIR.
Free despite the serious charge of a sexual offence against a minor, an emboldened Ravi continued to threaten Joshi. The latest threat came a couple of hours before the attack – the gang had tracked Joshi and knew he was visiting his sister’s place at Mata Colony. At 8pm on Monday evening, two and a half hours before the attack, three of them landed up at the house. Among them was Chhotu, who later shot at Joshi.
“Vikram had come for dinner along with my two nieces,” Joshi’s sister said. “When Chhotu started abusing us and also threw a bottle on the road outside the house, Vikram went out to talk to them but a heated argument ensued. Vikram called the area inspector but he refused to come and told Vikram he is unwell and he would only come in the morning (on Tuesday),” she added.
Chhotu left but the gang lay in wait nearby. Around 10.30pm, Joshi left with his daughters. Barely
200 metres
away, the gang surrounded him in three two-wheelers. They overpowered Joshi in no time. Joshi’s younger brother Aniket said there were nine to 10 men who were involved in the attack. The CCTV camera that captured the shooting was installed outside a shop.
Joshi’s sister’s family members were the first to reach the spot. They took him to a nearby private hospital, which referred him to Yashoda hospital in Nehru Nagar. Dr Atul Gupta, the neurosurgeon at Yashoda treating Joshi said Joshi was in coma and had due to brain haemorrhage. “He was brought here at 11.30pm and when we opened the bandage, the bullet was present on the opposite side of the gunshot wound. We pulled it out,” he said.
On Tuesday, police made nine arrests, including Ravi and Chhotu. Raghvendra, sub-inspector at Pratap Vihar police chowki – where the sexual harassment complaint was filed -- under the jurisdiction of Vijay Nagar police station has been suspended.
Ghaziabad police chief Kalanidhi Naithani said police received information about the attack on Joshi at 10.45pm. “A police team reached the spot while I went to the hospital. Immediately, six teams were formed to nab the culprits,” Naithani said.
Other than Ravi and Chhotu, the others arrested are Mohit, Dalveer, Aakash, Yogendra, Abhishek Saroj, Abhishek Jeenwal and Shakir, all residents of the Vijay Nagar area where Joshi also lives. They have been booked under IPC sections 307 (attempt to murder), 34 (common intention) and 506 (criminal intimidation).
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