Yogi defends govt response
EXECUTIVE SHOT UP chief minister says guilty will be punished, let SIT do job, as Opposition mounts pressure
LUCKNOW : Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Sunday rejected demands for his resignation over the killing of a 38-year-old Apple executive in Lucknow a day earlier even as the Opposition alleged that police in the state have been allowed to adopt a trigger-happy approach.
A Uttar Pradesh police constable had allegedly shot dead Vivek Tiwari in Lucknow’s Gomti Nagar when he was returning home with a friend after a party. Tiwari’s family had alleged foul play and initially refused to cremate his body. They had sought Adityanath’s intervention and a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the killing.
“The government acted quickly in the case. A SIT (special investigation team) has been set up. A thorough probe has been ordered and we would ensure that justice is done in the case,” Adityanath said in Saharanpur.
“I guess he is free to say or demand anything,’’ said Adityanath in response to Uttar Pradesh Congress chief Raj Babbar’s demand for his resignation.
“All I want to say is that the Lucknow incident is unfortunate. I have already made it clear that the government would not tolerate a criminal activity like this. And we are serious about this.”
Two ministers, Ashutosh Tandon and Brajesh Pathak, attended Tiwari’s cremation and assured his family of a meeting with Adityanath.
“From a SIT probe to giving the power to investigate the crime to a neutral police station and promptly arresting the accused, everything has been done. We have done everything. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanathji has already said that if the family wants a CBI probe could also be recommended,” said Tandon.
Pathak said they are with the family. “We have assured the family of full cooperation. If they want we will get them to meet the chief minister too. All the demands of the family would be considered.”
Deputy chief minister Keshav Prasad Maurya visited the family, too, and said all their demands would be met.
“We are with the family in their hour of grief. All their demands would be met. This is a traumatic phase for the family and we are here to assure them that this government stands firmly with them,” he said
Opposition Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, who was in Madhya Pradesh to start his party’s poll campaign in the state, slammed the Adityanath government over the law and order situation in Uttar Pradesh. He demanded that a high court judge should probe into the killing.
“The killing of an innocent civilian in Lucknow proves the dangers of the allowing the police to adopt a trigger-happy approach,’’ he said. “The killing of an employee of a multinational company has also dented the state’s image abroad.”
He asked the government to give up its insensitive approach and announce ₹5 crore relief for the family. “Only those who have a family know the pain of losing a family member and the responsibility of running a family.”
Babbar visited Tiwari’s family and alleged the police were trying to hush up the case and demanded that the government be held accountable for it.
“The situation has worsened so much that police are committing cold-blooded murder right under the nose of chief minister Yogi Adityanath and in the constituency of Union home minister Rajnath Singh. We demand that the chief minister must resign,” he said.