Lucknow shooting: Apple executive shot dead by police for not stopping car

A man, identified as Vivek Tiwari, was shot dead by a policeman near the Mukadampur Police Station in Lucknow's Gomtinagar on Friday night. It has been alleged that Tiwari was shot because he refused to stop his car after being asked by the police.

UP cabinet minister Ashutosh Tandon said that orders for rewriting the FIR have been given. He further said that District Magistrate of Lucknow has ordered magisterial inquiry and a Special Investigation Team has been formed to probe into the incident.

Vivek Tiwari, the deceased, was returning home after work with a woman colleague. He was asked to stop by two cops on a bike. He refused to comply and instead tried to ram his car into the policemen's bike.

The site of the incident. (Photo: Twitter/ANI)

One of the two policemen, identified as Prashant Chaudhary, stationed at the Gomtinagar Police Station, shot at Tiwari as he tried to escape. Tiwari's car swerved and jammed into a divider.

The front-pane window of Tiwari's car. (Photo: Twitter/ANI)

An injured Tiwari was taken to the Lohia Hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries. The post-mortem report has concluded the cause of death as being shot.

"He (Vivek Tiwari) had a bullet injury near the ear on the left side, he died during treatment," said Devendra Singh Negi, director, Lohia Hospital. Negi has also said that two police personnel involved in the accident were also treated at the hospital.

Tiwari was a sales manager at the technology company Apple.

Cop claims self-defence

Chaudhary has alleged that Tiwari tried to mow him down with his car two-three times and did not stop when asked. "He escaped after being hit by the bullet. I am not sure if he was hit by the bullet or not," he said. He has claimed that he fired in self-defence.

#Lucknow At 2 am last night, I saw a suspicious car with its lights off, when I approached the car, the driver (Vivek Tiwari) tried to run over me thrice to kill me. I fired a bullet in self-defence, he then immediately took off from the spot: Police constable Prashant Chaudhary pic.twitter.com/ZSLiATeCU6 ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) September 29, 2018

A case has been filed against the two policemen under Section 302 (punishment for murder) of the Indian Penal Code.

Authorities on alert

The death has sparked outrage in the district with the IG, SSP and other authorities present at the scene. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has also spoken to the UP DGP OP Singh about the incident.

Issuing a statement on the incident, Singh said "The arrested constable said that the firing was done in self-defence because Tiwari tried to flee. However, we believe that when threat perception is low, the police cannot resort to such aggression. A case has been filed and he will be sent to jail after being produced in court."

Deputy Chief Minister KP Maurya has also assured of action against the guilty, "Investigation is underway. If an innocent person has been killed by the police probe will be done. Actions will be taken against those found guilty" he told news agency ANI.

A Special Investigation Team (SIT) has been constituted to probe the matter impartially, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Kalanidhi Naithani said. The SIT has been constituted under the chairmanship of IG Lucknow. SP Crime and SP Rural Lucknow will be other members of the team

Police have also recommended a magisterial inquiry into the incident, he said.

Deceased's kin seeks answers

The MNC executive's wife, Kalpana Tiwari has demanded answers into his death. "I waited for my husband till two in the night. After that, I started calling him continuously on both his mobiles -- both of which were functioning but no one picked up. Around 3 am a man called me up and said that your husband and his colleague have suffered minor injuries and are being treated at the Lohia Hospital. When I asked who the caller was, they said they were an employee of the hospital. Why didn't the police call to inform me about my husband's accident?" she told ANI.

#WATCH Kalpana Tiwari,wife of deceased Vivek Tiwari says,"Police had no right to shoot at my husband,demand UP CM to come here&talk to me." He was injured&later succumbed to injuries after a police personnel shot at his car late last night,on noticing suspicious activity #Lucknow pic.twitter.com/buJyDWts5n ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) September 29, 2018

She has also alleged that the police is trying to cover up the facts in the case, "When I went and saw the scene, I saw that a bullet had been fired through the front-pane of the car. Police are saying he tried to flee. I can agree with the police version that he was with a woman in suspicious circumstances. But why was he not caught? They could have noted the number of his car and done an investigation. Why was he shot? The police have deceived us. And the top officials are all trying to cover up the case."

Kalpana has also demanded that CM Yogi Adityanath talk to her. "I demand that the CM meet me and talk to me, then only will I cremate my husband. We had elected the BJP government with such faith. We were so happy when Yogiji had become CM, then this is being done? He needs to tell me why was my husband shot. Was he a terrorist that the police shot at him?" she asked.

Kalpana has also written a letter to Chief Minister Yogi, demanding a probe into her husband's death, a job in police based on her educational qualifications and compensation of at least Rs 1 crore.

Tiwari's brother-in-law has also demanded a CBI probe into the death. His uncle has termed the incident a "murder". "It's a clear case of murder. I've served as a police inspector, I know a person is never shot in the neck. Such an incident never occurred before the way it has under the Yogi government", he said.

The colleague who was in the car with Tiwari has issued a statement, saying "I am not in a condition to say anything right now. Even I want the culprit to be punished. I am under no pressure to hide the truth."

(with inputs from Kumar Abhishek, Nelanshu Shukla and Shivendra in Lucknow)

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