Uttar Pradesh journalist shot at in front of minor daughters, critical

Lodging a complaint of harassment of his niece by some unidentified people proved costly for a journalist, who was shot at in front of his two minor daughters in Uttar Pradesh's Ghaziabad town, close to Delhi.

Joshi, who was shot at from close range, was rushed to the hospital, where his condition was stated to be ''very critical'', sources said.

The scribe, identified as Vikram Joshi, was intercepted by the assailants while he was on his way home on his motorbike with his two minor daughters late on Monday night near Mata Colony, according to the police sources here.

Joshi's brother said that a complaint of harassment of his niece by some unidentified people had been lodged with the police by the journalist a few days back.

A video, which went viral on the social networking sites, showed the scribe's daughter crying and seeking the help of passers-by to take their injured father to the hospital.

Police said that five persons were detained in connection with the incident and they were being quizzed. The motive behind the attack was yet to be ascertained, police added. A police sub-inspector was also suspended for laxity.

The journalists' organisations have strongly condemned the attack and demanded stern punishment for the perpetrators.

The opposition parties also slammed the Uttar Pradesh government over what they alleged the shooting crime graph. ''The Uttar Pradesh government has failed on the law and order front...even the journalists are not safe in the state,'' said a senior UP Congress leader here on Tuesday.