Vikram Joshi murder: SHO suspended as one accused yet to be traced

ghaziabad: The Ghaziabad police have suspended the Station House Officer (SHO) of Vijay Nagar police station in connection with the murder case of the journalist who was shot by local goons on Monday in Ghaziabad. A senior cop said that the action has been taken in view of the report submitted by a police circle officer who was probing the matter.

35-year-old Vikram Joshi, a journalist with a Hindi daily, was shot in the head by goons near his home at Mata Colony area of Vijay Nagar on Monday 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.

Joshi's family has alleged that they had complained about a possible threat to his life earlier also but the concerned police officer took no action. They alleged that the accused had earlier molested Joshi's niece, for which the police had refused to lodge an FIR despite repeated complaints.

"Taking action on the report submitted by the Circle officer, the SHO has been suspended for taking no action on the complaint and his negligence. Moreover, the case has also been transferred from Vijay Nagar police station to the Kotwali police station," said Kalanidhi Naithani, senior superintendent of Ghaziabad police.

Meanwhile, even after four days of the murder, Akash Bihari, the 10th member of Ravi's gang is still absconding and police have failed to arrest him. Akash Bihari has been named in the complaint given by Vikram's family after the incident. Kalanidhi Naithani, SSP of Ghaziabad said that police are trying to trace Akash Bihari, who is absconding in the case.

Sources have said that the initial investigation revealed that Akash Bihari had been keeping an eye on Joshi's house before the incident.