NOIDA: The 38-year-old reporter, Mahesh Vats, who had gone into a coma after he was brutally attacked by some persons, allegedly at the instance of Prayag Hospital owner Dr B P Singh, is dead.
He passed away at 6.55 pm on Saturday, at Noida’s Metro Hospital, where he had been placed on life support systems since the attack on Thursday morning.
The police will on Sunday take Dr Singh on remand from Dasna Jail where he is now lodged. The Noida police have been allowed custody of Dr Singh for 14 days.
City police chief Paresh Pande said, "We need to interrogate Dr Singh for information to lead us to the persons who actually carried out the attack and abduction, besides other information and recoveries." Armed policemen were posted at Prayag Hospital as a "precautionary measure" immediately after Vats was declared dead.
This reporter has obtained copies of some letters that show Vats had repeatedly complained to senior police officers that Dr Singh had threatened him and asked for police protection. On August 11, he had complained to a senior official in writing that four persons claiming to be policemen came to his Sector 71 home at 2 am. One claimed he was constable Rajendra from the Sector 58 police station.
He wrote that when he "did not open the extra grill I had installed for safety, they tried to break it. They asked me what was my problem with Prayag Hospital. Even as I called up the police control room, the four men left."
He had also complained of threats to his life on July 18 and August 1.
Sources close to Vats alleged that the threats started coming after he moved three applications under Right to Information. In these, among other things, Vats had sought information about the floor area ratio of Prayag Hospital, and why the allegedly illegal portions were not being pulled down. All this followed the filing of a civil suit by Dr Singh on July 26, claiming Vats owed him Rs 25,447 for treatment earlier.
Requested for comment, Pande said, "There is a lot we are investigating with regard to this murder. Right now, I would not like to comment." Vats was physically challenged. And, a cane he carried on his scooter to help him walk was also recovered from the site where he was attacked by unidentified persons.
