Journos allege attack; police pin extortion bid on the two

Two journalists were allegedly beaten up and robbed of Rs 41000, two cameras and a mobile phone by assailants in Punjabi Bagh in West Delhi on Thursday.

Two journalists were allegedly beaten up and robbed of Rs 41000, two cameras and a mobile phone by assailants in Punjabi Bagh in West Delhi on Thursday. Police however suspect the two were trying to extort money from a trader in the area.

HT Image

According to police, one of the journalists, Sameena Akhtar, made a PCR call that she and her friend Jay Niwas were
assaulted and robbed in Punjabi Bagh. "The two work as journalists in a Hindi daily, and had come to Punjabi Bagh. They blamed a trader, N.C. Gupta, for the incident; the trader meanwhile has denied these allegations," said a senior police officer.

Akhtar told police Gupta attacked them because they had published an article against him in their newspaper after which he called them up and allegedly threatened them with dire consequences. On Thursday, when they had gone to meet Arun Vidhroi in Punjabi Bagh, Gupta and his men allegedly attacked them.

But according to them, the journalists could not tell them from where they had obtained the huge amount of cash they were carrying. They added Vidhroi was involved in four separate criminal cases.

"We suspect the journalists were trying to extort the money from Gupta. When the deal did not go as they planned they registered a complaint against him. But we are the case investigating from every angle, " said a police officer.