A police constable allegedly shot an Apple executive in Lucknow, when the latter apparently tried to flee after ramming into a patrol car. The incident took place during the early hours of Saturday.
Police said Vivek Tiwari, 38, was in a car with an ex-colleague when the incident took place. The duo were returning after the launch of iPhone X Plus. He was asked to stop the vehicle after the constable noticed "suspicious activity". According to police, shots were fired at Tiwari when he rammed the constable's bike. The car subsequently hit a wall.
As per reports, constable Prashant Kumar, who is alleged to have fired at the car, and his colleague Sandeep Kumar were arrested after police registered an FIR.
"A police personnel was detained yesterday after he shot at a car on noticing suspicious activity, injuring driver of the vehicle. On seeing the police, he tried to flee and rammed his car against a wall. He later succumbed to his injuries. Postmortem report to determine the cause of death," a senior police officer said.
Kalanidhi Naithani, senior superintendent of Lucknow Police, said the constable fired in self-defence. According to a statement given by the constable, Tiwari allegedly tried to run him over thrice when he approached the car. He fired the gun in self defence and Tiwari immediately sped from the spot.
Vishnu Shukla, brother-in-law of the deceased said he wanted CBI to investigate the case. The deceased's wife, Kalpana Tiwari, demanded justice and said that she wanted Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to look into the matter.
Constable Prashant said the driver of the car tried to run him over after which he fired in self-defence. Tiwari was shot at by the policeman around 2.30am in Lucknow’s Gomtinagar extension area and later succumbed to his injuries.
Director General of police O.P. Singh said initial findings suggest that the constable acted beyond the limit of self defence and added that a fair investigation will be done.
Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya said action will be taken against those found guilty. "Investigation is underway. If an innocent person has been killed by the police, probe will be done. Action will be taken against those found guilty," Maurya said.
