On patrol, UP cop shoots dead unarmed man in car
LUCKNOW: Two Uttar Pradesh Police constables were arrested on Saturday after one of them allegedly shot dead a local executive of the tech company, Apple Inc., when he tried to drive away after being questioned in the upscale Gomti Nagar neighbourhood of Lucknow, investigators said.
Vivek Tiwari, 38, was travelling in the vehicle with a female friend, a former colleague, when the incident took place well past midnight on Friday.
The two constables, identified as Prashant Chaudhary and Sandeep, were arrested on the basis of a First Information Report (FIR) lodged by the friend, the police said.
Tiwari’s f amily members sought the intervention of chief minister Yogi Adityanth into alleged foul play in the incident, and an inquiry by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
UP police have been engaged in a months-long drive against crime, allegedly gunning down dozens of suspected gangsters. As news of Tiwari’s death spread, UP Congress president, Raj Babbar, tweeted that the “encounter raj” in the state was out to kill inno- cent people and spare real criminals. Chief minister, Yogi Aditynath, said on Saturday that “this was not an encounter.” The incident comes two months after the Supreme Court sought a response from the UP government on a petition alleging that several fake encounters had taken place in the state.
The police initially said the constable may have fired in selfdefence, but later conceded that excessive force had been used by the policemen. “This is a shameful incident for us,” Uttar Pradesh additional director general of police (law and order) Anand Kumar said.
“Prima facie it is a murder case… The principle of law is clear that the right of self-defence cannot exceed the perceived threat,” Kumar said.
The two constables were sacked and arrested on the basis of murder charges in the FIR lodged by Tiwari’s former colleague, Sana Khan. A Special Investigation Team (SIT) was formed to probe the case. Adityanath said the case could be handed over to the CBI. A magisterial inquiry was also ordered into the incident.