Rajnath speaks to UP CM, seeks 'effective action' in techie killing

New Delhi/Lucknow : Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday spoke to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath over the murder of a young Apple executive by police in Lucknow and sought "effective and appropriate action".

"Spoke to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on the Lucknow's incident of Vivek Tiwari. I have asked the Chief Minister to take effective and appropriate action," Rajnath Singh said in a tweet in Hindi.

His remarks came after a UP Police constable was arrested and booked for murder after he shot and killed a young Apple executive from close range. The state government has also ordered a probe into the incident.

According to the UP Police officials, the constable and his colleague have been dismissed from service and sent to jail. The Chief Minister has said if needed an inquiry by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) would be ordered.

According to a colleague of Apple sales manager, the accused constable, Prashant Chowdhary, had shot at Vivek Tiwari after chasing the SUV he was driving. He had apparently failed to stop Tiwari during a late-night checking.

The incident happened at around 1.30 a.m, when Tiwari was heading home after the launch of iPhone XS and XS Max, along with Sana Khan, his colleague.

Khan said that after they were fired at, Tiwari got scared and drove the SUV into an underpass pillar, sustaining more injuries.

Director-General of Police O.P. Singh has constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) headed by Inspector General (Lucknow) to probe the case. Superintendent of Police (Crime and Rural) will be part of the team which has been asked to submit its report at the earliest.

Lucknow SSP Kalanidhi Naithani has met District Magistrate Kaushalraj Sharma requesting a simultaneous magisterial inquiry into the incident.

The autopsy revealed on Saturday that the bullet had hit Tiwari in the chin and got stuck between the neck and the head, leading to his death due to "profuse bleeding".

The SSP said the constable had been booked for murder after Khan filed an FIR.

According to the police, when the constable at Gomtinagar Extension signalled Tiwari to stop for checking, "he tried to flee". Police officials said: "As Tiwari sped away, his car hit a bike on which two constables were riding, who then chased and shot him."

A second policeman has also been arrested and both were sent for medical examination to ascertain if they were drunk when the incident took place, an official said.

Tiwari's widow, Kalpana, has demanded that the Chief Minister should explain to her and her girls why the 38-year-old Apple executive was shot dead.

"We were so happy when the Bharatiya Janata Party government was voted to power...when Yogiji became Chief Minister... Was it for all this?" she said.

Adityanath told the media that a probe had been ordered and that it was "definitely not a police encounter". "If needed, we will not hesitate in ordering a CBI probe...," he said.