UP scribe murder: SHO suspended for negligence, probe shifted

The Ghaziabad Police has suspended the police station in-charge of Vijay Nagar area where journalist Vikram Joshi was shot at four days ago by assailants, a senior officer said on Friday.

The probe in the case has been transferred from the Vijay Nagar police station to the Kotwali police station, Ghaziabad Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Kalanidhi Naithani said.

The action has been taken in view of the report submitted by Circle Officer (Ghaziabad Zone 1) Rakesh Mishra, who was probing the matter, Naithani said.

Joshi, 35, was shot in the head by goons near his home at Mata Colony in Vijay Nagar on Monday night while he was on a two-wheeler with his two daughters. He succumbed to the injuries on Wednesday morning while undergoing treatment at a hospital.

His family alleged that the local police took no action on complaints made earlier against the goons, who allegedly harassed Joshi's niece.

Joshi had confronted the accused on July 16, after which a fight broke out between the two sides and one of the accused had got injured.

"A circle officer, who was entrusted with the investigation of the Vikram Joshi murder case, has said it has been found that there was lack of supervision from the Vijay Nagar SHO in the case," Naithani said.

"No preventive or legal action was taken in the case from July 16 when the dispute arose and mutual allegations were made till July 20 when the killing took place," the SSP said.

"The SHO (Rajeev Kumar Sahrawat) has been suspended for non-action and negligence," he said.

He said so far nine people, including the accused who shot Joshi, have been arrested and one culprit is on the run.

A local police post in-charge, Raghvendra Singh, was suspended on Wednesday itself.

"For better investigation, the probe has been shifted from the Vijay Nagar police station to the Kotwali police station," he added.

Taking strong note of the law and order situation, the district police chief directed the SP (city) and the SP (rural) to immediately brief all personnel, from the police post in-charge-level to constables, that laxity in approach would not be tolerated.

"Personnel have been told to ensure preventive measures in cases of old rivalries and enmity," Naithani said.

"I have also called a meeting of SHOs soon where they will be told to work for the public and ensure action in cases. I have also proposed rewards for those working well in their area to encourage the personnel," he said.

The SSP also ordered transfer and shunting of a few officers in the department.

Devendra Bisht, the in-charge of the police complaint cell, has been transferred as the new Vijay Nagar police station SHO, while Sihani Gate police station SHO Dilip Bisht has been shunted to police lines over a spate of crimes like kidnapping and vehicle thefts in the area.

Krishna Gopal Sharma is the new SHO of Sihani Gate.

Three more police post in-charges have been sent to police lines for not being able to control crime in their areas.

These include sub-inspectors Ikram Ali, Yogendra Singh, Pradeep Singh who were posted at Chirori town, Morta and Shastri Nagar police outposts, respectively, the officer said.