Apple executive shot dead in Lucknow: Ex-cop gets 10 years, family calls it ‘murder’

District Government Counsel, Lucknow, Rakesh Pandey, said: “Chaudhary appeared before the court from jail under tight security. The court sentenced him to 10 years’ imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 20,000.”

Tiwari, from New Hyderabad Colony in Lucknow, is survived by his wife, Kalpana, an Officer on Special Duty at the Nagar Nigam, and two children. He was 38.

Kalpana, wife of Apple executive Vivek Tiwari, weeps over his body at their home in Lucknow in 2018. (Express Archive Photo by Vishal Srivastav)

What happened on September 29, 2018

According to the prosecution, Tiwari and his colleague, Sana Khan, were returning home in his car around 1.30 am on September 29, 2018.

As they reached near Makdoompur outpost in Gomti Nagar Extension, Chaudhary and Kumar, who were on a bike, signalled to them to stop. When Sana rolled down the window to ask why, Kumar allegedly struck her with a baton.

Police claimed Tiwari did not stop and continued driving. Chaudhary then allegedly pulled out his service pistol and fired at the vehicle. The bullet struck Tiwari, causing him to crash into a divider.

The two constables then fled the scene. Sana sought help from the police control room and rushed Tiwari to a hospital, where he died during treatment.

An FIR against the two constables was registered the following day at Gomti Nagar police station and they were subsequently arrested.

In the FIR filed based on Sana’s complaint, she had said: “… Two policemen came on a motorcycle. We tried to escape them and they stopped us. Suddenly, I heard a gunshot, the car kept moving and it hit the underpass pillar. Blood was pouring from Vivek’s head. I cried for help and soon, a police team came and took Vivek to hospital. Later, I was told that he was dead.”

The constables, however, had alleged that Tiwari tried to run them down and that Chaudhary fired the shot in “self-defence”.

Kalpana, wife of Apple executive Vivek Tiwari, weeps over his body at their home in Lucknow in 2018. (Express Archive Photo by Vishal Srivastav)

What police had found

Then Director General of Police (DGP) O P Singh had constituted a special investigation team (SIT) to probe the case.

Police had said the bullet hit Tiwari’s neck. Then Lucknow Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Kalanidhi Naithani said that the post mortem report confirmed that he died of the bullet injury. The car Tiwari was driving had a broken windshield with a bullet hole in it, while the driver’s seat was drenched in blood.

At the time, Kalpana had questioned the functioning of the police and demanded a meeting with the Chief Minister.

“They killed an innocent man. They are saying that he did not stop the car. In that case, they should have fired at the tyre and the car would have stopped. They miss shots when firing on actual criminals but here, they shot my husband with a single shot,” she had claimed.

Pranshu Agarwal, who represent Kalpana, said the court, in its judgment, acquitted Kumar, observing that his involvement in the case was not established. He added that they would examine the judgment in detail to determine the grounds for filing an appeal.