TV scribe shot at by bikers, neighbour’s role under lens

GHAZIABAD: A TV journalist working with a Hindi news channel was shot at near his home by unidentified bikers in Ghaziabad on Sunday allegedly over personal enmity. The scribe, Anuj Chaudhary (40), was admitted to Yashoda Hospital in Nehru Nagar where he underwent a surgery late in the evening.
Anuj was attacked barely a few metres away from his house in Razapur under Kavi Nagar police station area.

SSP Vaibhav Krishna told TOI that the attack took place over an old case of enmity that Anuj's family harbours with the family of a neighbour, Shekhar Chaudhary.

Interestingly, Shekhar Chaudhary was a prime suspect in the attack on BJP leader Brijpal Teotia in August 2016.

“Anuj's family members have confirmed that the attack was the fallout of this enmity. The main suspect, Shekhar Chaudhary, is himself in jail in another case. Their enmity stretches back to several decades and had been further intensified after Anuj's wife, Nisha, was elected as a councillor in Ghaziabad Municipal Corporation last year. We have already identified some of the attackers. An FIR is being registered in Kavi Nagar police station,” Krishna told TOI.

The shooting took place a little after 7pm when Anuj was walking home along with a few political workers after inspecting repair works being undertaken with the municipal funds allocated through his wife Nisha, who was elected on a BSP ticket.

“We were walking towards Anuj’s home when suddenly we heard a gunshot. There were two men on a bike wearing helmets. The one riding pillion was firing randomly at Anuj. They drove past us, and along with a car stationed a little distance away, fled from the spot. They must have fired around six rounds at us,” said Surendra, a worker.

Police said another worker who was walking along with Anuj has sustained a wound as a bullet grazed his left arm. He has been admitted to Sarvodaya Hospital in Kavi Nagar where his condition is stated to be stable.

Anuj was rushed to Yashoda Hospital in a profusely bleeding condition. “The patient was brought to the hospital at 7.58 pm. He has apparently sustained two gunshot wounds on his right arm and one gunshot wound on the left side of his abdomen. A team of three doctors has operated on him. Any confirmation about his health condition can be made only after completion of the surgery,” hospital spokesperson Gaurav Pandey told TOI.

Owing to his enmity with Shekhar Chaudhary, the police had provided Anuj with a bodyguard last year. However, Anuj’s family members said the gunman had been relieved by Anuj from duty slightly early on Sunday.

Teotia had a miraculous escape after a few armed assailants had rained bullets on his SUV on Rawli Road in Muradnagar in 2016. Anuj had been provided with a gunman soon after this incident as he feared a threat for his life following Shekhar's arrest. Shekhar’s family reportedly were under the impression that he was arrested after information about his whereabouts were given to police by Anuj.

Shekhar Chaudhary's daughter-in-law, Seema, had contested the municipal polls from Razapur as an independent candidate against Anuj's wife, Nisha, in the urban local body polls last year but had lost.