Not an encounter, will hand over to CBI if needed: UP CM on Vivek Tiwari case

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Saturday denied that the killing of Vivek Tiwari was an encounter and asserted that the probe will be handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), if required.

"It was not an encounter. An investigation will be conducted in this incident and if needed, we will order a CBI inquiry into the incident," the Chief Minister told media.

As part of the probe a Special Investigation Team (SIT) has been formed under Superintendent of Police (Crime) to look into the incident, wherein Tiwari, an employee of tech giant Apple, was allegedly killed during a firing by UP Police constable. The accused constable, Prashant Chaudhary, has been taken into police custody following the incident and a case has been registered against him under Section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). However, Chaudhary has claimed that he fired in self-defense.

"An SIT has been formed under Superintendent of Police (Crime). I have personally sent a request to District Magistrate for a magisterial inquiry into the incident," Kalanidhi Naithani, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Lucknow, told reporters.

In his defense, Chaudhary said: "At 2 am last night, I saw a suspicious car with its lights off, when I approached the car, the driver (deceased Vivek Tiwari) tried to run over me thrice to kill me. I fired in self-defence, he then immediately sped off from the spot."

Constable Choudhary was not the lone witness of the incident as a woman was accompanying the deceased when the alleged killing took place. "I am not in a condition to say anything right now. I want the culprit to be punished. I am under no pressure to hide the truth," said the woman.

Terming the incident as shameful for the police force, UP Additional Director General of Police (Law & Order), Anand Kumar said that probe is being conducted to establish the sequence of events. "The law has been violated in this case. If the situation demanded firing of a bullet, it could have been fired at the car tyre, even then it was not right to do so. This is a shameful incident for us," said Kumar.

He further gave details pertaining to the victim's postmortem."Post mortem report establishes a firearm injury from a bullet on the left side of the chin, viscera of the victim has preserved. Thorough investigation is being conducted to establish the sequence of events," said the senior cop.

On Friday night, Vivek Tiwar was allegedly shot by police personnel in Uttar Pradesh's capital city Lucknow after which his car met with an accident. He later succumbed to his injuries while undergoing treatment at a hospital.