Noida journalist robbed, case filed

Noida: Taking suo motu cognisance of the matter, the Noida police filed a case on Wednesday at the Bisrakh police station against five unknown suspects for allegedly robbing a TV journalist at gunpoint

Noida: Taking suo motu cognisance of the matter, the Noida police filed a case on Wednesday at the Bisrakh police station against five unknown suspects for allegedly robbing a TV journalist at gunpoint.

HT Image

The incident took place in the early hours of Monday near the Hindon Bridge when Atul Agrawal, editor-in-chief of Hindi Khabar news channel, was returning from office. He had shared the incident on social media but hadn’t filed a police complaint, police said.

The complaint was filed by sub-inspector Kartar Singh. In the complaint, he stated that Agrawal was travelling in a car through the Faridabad-Noida-Ghaziabad (FNG) Expressway to Supertech Eco 1 village in Greater Noida west.

“Near the Hindon river bridge around 1am, he stopped the car and plugged in a pen drive to play music when five suspects reached the spot on two motorcycles and held him at gunpoint. They robbed him of some money ( ₹5,000-6,000) and fled the spot,” it said.

“One of them was using abusive language while another one was saying to shoot me. I pleaded that I have a young child and to please let me go,” he wrote. The five suspects finally released him and fled with only the cash. His mobile phone and car were not snatched.

The sub-inspector said that the police team reached the spot for investigation after they received information through social media. The police called Agrawal to come to the spot the same night to assist them with the probe but he refused. Next day, however, Agrawal reached the Bisrakh police station and narrated the sequence of events but did not file a complaint, officers said.

Harish Chander, deputy commissioner of police, Noida central, said the case was filed against unknown suspects under Section 392 (robbery) of the Indian Penal Code. “We are scanning CCTV cameras of nearby areas to identify and arrest the suspects. We have increased patrolling. We have also put up lights at different places for the safety of commuters,” he said.

When asked, Agrawal said, “The law will take its course. May God guide those boys to the right path.”