SIT re-creates crime scene before witness
THE VEHICLES WERE PLACED ON THE BASIS OF THE INFORMATION PROVIDED BY SANA KHAN WHO WAS SITTING IN THE FRONT SEAT OF THE SUV WHEN VIVEK WAS GUNNED DOWN
LUCKNOW : The special investigation team (SIT), which is probing the murder of Apple executive Vivek Tiwari, 38, by constable Prashant Chowdhury on Saturday, recreated the crime scene on Tuesday in the presence of eyewitness Sana Khan and Vivek’s widow Kalpana Tiwari.
Inspector general (IG), Lucknow zone, Sujit Pandey, who is heading the SIT investigation, reached the crime spot in Vibhuti Khand area of Gomti Nagar with senior scientist at forensic science laboratory (FSL) Arun Sharma at around 3 pm. According to police, the crime scene was isolated and the team also arranged a police motorcycle and an SUV similar to the one being driven by Vivek on Saturday.
“We carried out the exercise to recreate the exact scenario that led to Vivek’s death,” IG Sujit Pandey said. The five-member forensic team took the measurement of the vehicle and the motorcycle and tried to ascertain the exact position of vehicles.
The vehicles were placed on the basis of the information provided by Sana Khan who was sitting in the front seat of the SUV when Vivek was shot.
The SIT team also called two police constables to enact the role of accused constables Prashant Chaudhary and Sandeep Kumar.
“It remains a subject of investigation if there was a confrontation between Vivek and the constable or the shot was fired without any provocation,” Pandey told reporters.
A police constable was made to stand with an empty pistol similar to the one used by Chaudhary after which the experts noted several parameters like the distance between the pistol and the ground and distance between the weapon and the SUV’S windshield.
“It was important for us to ensure that recreation of the crime scene is conducted in front of Vivek’s widow,” Pandey said. Vivek’s widow Kalpana looked at the proceedings. Later, Kalpana demanded the transfer of constable Rakhi Chaudhary, wife of Prashant, claiming that she might influence probe the into the case.
Earlier on Tuesday, the IG also visited the office of UPRNSS (Uttar Pradesh Rajya Nirman Sahkarita Sangh), located hardly 30 metres from the spot of crime, to collect the video footage of CCTV cameras installed there. Pandey said the video footage didn’t reveal much and it would be examined closely.
“We have identified at least 100 points in the investigation that will be looked into before arriving at any conclusion.we will also correlate the details of the recreation of crime scene with other circumstantial evidences to deduce a scientific conclusion,” the IG said.
Later, the team also visited the underpass where the SUV had collided with a pillar after Vivek sustained bullet injury and lost control over the wheels.
“The most important aspect of the investigation is the moment when the shot was fired. We want to focus our investigation on that point,” Pandey said. Two hours before the recreation of the crime scene, IG (civil defence) Amitabh Thakur reached the crime spot.