Naveen Gupta had been working as a contributor with the daily Hindustan for eight years

A journalist working for a Hindi daily was shot dead by unidentified men near Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh on Thursday evening.Naveen Gupta, who had been working as a contributor with the daily Hindustan for eight years, was shot near the Nagar Palika market in Billhaur, about 60 km from Kanpur, around 6:30 pm. The attackers, three to four in number, shot him while he was coming out of the toilet of his hosiery shop and then fled.The journalist died while he was being taken to a hospital."Journalist Naveen was shot at by 3-4 men while he was sitting in his hosiery shop. We hope to nab the criminals as soon as possible. DM & SSP of Kanpur Nagar are already on the spot. Couple of local police teams formed to crack the case," said a senior police officer.The reason for the killing is unclear, police said, adding that top officials were rushed to the crime spot. Forensic experts were also called to gather evidence.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has directed the Director General of Police to personally monitor the situation.A massive search has been launched to catch the attackers, but no arrest were made till late evening.