Shot in Ghaziabad, journalist Vikram Joshi dies

A journalist was shot in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, on July 20. Vikram Joshi was riding a motorcycle with his two daughters when a group of men stopped him and opened fire. He subsequently died in hospital.

"The doctor monitoring Joshi said the veins in the journalist's head had got badly damaged due to the bullet injury," Hindustan Times reported, adding that the local police station chief has been suspended and a departmental inquiry initiated after the journalist's family alleged "inaction by the police".

The attack on Joshi was partly recorded on CCTV camera.

The police have so far arrested nine men accused of attacking Joshi. In a video released on Twitter on Tuesday, the Ghaziabad police said, “Vikram Joshi, who works for Ghaziabad’s Jansagar Today, was returning from his sister’s place when he was attacked and was injured by firearms.”

Recently, Joshi had filed a complaint against a group of boys who were allegedly harassing his niece. The police suspect that the attack on the journalist was motivated by this complaint.

While the shooting of the journalist is unclear in the video, the attackers can be seen dragging him towards a car and hitting him before running away. As he lies on the road, his daughter can be seen rushing towards him and screaming for help.

Journalist Vinod Kapri took to Twitter to call attention to the incident. He said, “This is journalist Vikram Joshi, who had filed an FIR against some boys four days ago for molesting his niece. Those boys were not arrested but Vikram was shot. The attackers also appeared in front of the daughter. The thing has moved far beyond Jungle Raj.”