In a press conference, Lucknow SSP Kalanidhi Naithani, said the two accused Prashant Chaudhary and Sandeep have been charged under IPC Section 302 and have been sent to jail after being expelled from their posts. The SSP said the incident was not an encounter and the situation could have been avoided. He said the post-mortem has revealed that Tiwari died of fire arm injuries. "Police has also recommended a magisterial inquiry into the incident," he said.
Naithani said the policemen on patrol duty fired after they felt the vehicle would run over them again.
The incident took place near Gomti Nagar extension at around 1.30 a.m. when Tiwari was heading home after the launch of iPhone X plus along with Sana Khan, his colleague.
The accused Prashant Chaudhary who was admitted in a hospital said he fired at Tiwari in self-defence as the latter was about to run over him from his vehicle for the third time when asked to stop. There’s discrepancy in Chaudhary’s statement as Tiwari was reportedly shot from a close range.
Refuting police’s version of Tiwari’s car ramming the policemen’s bike, Sana, in a telephonic conversation, claimed, “There was no accident. The cops came towards the car after parking their motorcycle and shot at Sir (Vivek Tiwari.). I could not understand anything as it happened so quickly."
Sana said she is not under any pressure but has sought time to speak to reporters to narrate the sequence of events in detail.
Earlier, UP ADG Law & Order Anand Kumar apologised after investigating cops raised questions on the deceased’s character by alleging Tiwari was found to be in an objectionable position with his colleague Sana in the car.
Kumar assured stringent action against the cops. His statements were later reiterated by UP DGP O.P. Singh on being asked about the matter.
As the matter escalated, UP CM Yogi Adityanath also issued a statement to the media, saying "it was not an encounter. An investigation will be conducted in this incident. If needed, we will order a CBI inquiry into the incident."
The family of Tiwari in the morning refused to cremate his body till the accused were arrested.