Man shot dead by cop in Uttar Pradesh

A 38-year-old man was shot dead by a police constable on patrol duty early Saturday morning after he allegedly refused to stop his car for checking in the posh Gomti Nagar area, police said.

The two constables allegedly involved in the incident have been arrested and a Special Investigation Team (SIT) has been constituted to probe the matter impartially, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Kalanidhi Naithani said.

Police has also recommended a magisterial inquiry into the incident, he said.

The incident took place around 1:30 am when the man, identified as Vivek Tiwari, an employee of a multi-national company, was driving his SUV along with his woman colleague when the two policeman on patrol duty asked him to stop, police said.

The constable allegedly opened fire at the car on noticing "suspicious activity" and the bullet pierced through the windscreen, Naithani said.

Earlier the man's SUV had hit the motorcycle of the policemen, injuring them and damaging their vehicle. One of the constables, identified as Prashant Chaudhary, fired when the SUV tried to flee and it rammed into a pillar, the SSP said.

The actual cause of death, whether it was because of bullet injuries or due to injuries caused when his vehicle hit the pillar, will be known only after we receive a post-mortem report, he said.

Kumar, however, said he opened fire in self-defence when the SUV tried to run over him, police said.