As police constables across Uttar Pradesh observed ‘Black Day’ on 5 October following the arrest and suspension of constable Prashant Chaudhary – the main accused in the murder case of Apple employee Vivek Tiwari, three police station in-charges have been transferred while three constables were suspended by the UP police for staging the protest, India Today reported.
Following the protest, police constables Gaurav Chaudhary, Jitendra Verma and Sumit Kumar posted in Naka, Aliganj and Gudamba police stations were suspended for wearing black ribbons and behaving in an unruly manner said Inspector General of Police (law and order) Praveen Kumar during a press conference.
According to India Today, two expelled policemen Brijendra Yadav and Avinash Prakash Pathak were also arrested from Mirzapur and Varanasi respectively for running a campaign on social media against the arrest of constable Chaudhary.
Earlier on 4 October, Pathak who is general secretary of Police Non-gazetted Employees Welfare Association, UP had said that the protest was also staged against senior officers of the UP police department for lack of support towards their subordinates.
In a letter to Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, constable Yadav had threatened to go on indefinite fast if the charges against the constable were not dropped.
Speaking to India Today, the Director General of Police (DGP) said that there was no resentment with enraged cops over the arrest of Prashant Chaudhary who is accused of killing Tiwari. He also added that the photos that were posted online prior to the protest, spread misinformation.
WHAT HAD HAPPENED?
On the night of 28 September, Vivek Tiwari, who was driving his vehicle through Lucknow’s Gomti Nagar area, was shot in the neck by police constable Prashant Chaudhary. Chaudhary had claimed that he acted in self-defence after Tiwari ‘refused to stop during routine checking’ and tried to drive the car over the cop.
However, Tiwari’s colleague Sana Khan who was with him at the time of the murder and who is an eyewitness to the case, had said that they were returning home when two bike-borne police personnel – Prashant and Sandeep – came from front and Prashant shot at him (Vivek Tiwari). “A few truck-drivers were present there, but they didn’t help,” she had said.
Vivek was rushed to Lohia Hospital but died while receiving treatment for his injury.
THE IMPACT
Chaudhary had been suspended and arrested under Section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code.
CM Adityanath also took cognisance of the case and said that his government will not tolerate criminal offences by a policeman in UP, ANI reported.
Also reacting to the incident, Director General of Police, OP Singh called the act a “pure murder” and said that the accused cop was a 'rogue in uniform'.
WHAT HAPPENED AFTER THE PROTEST
After the suspension of three police officers, constable Sarvesh Chaudhary of Etah police offered his resignation, India Today reported.
Chaudhary was suspended on 4 October for posting provoking videos against senior UP police officials. “A departmental inquiry was also initiated against him,” told DGP PRO Vivek Tripathi to The Times of India.
Earlier, Tripathi had told the national daily that actions would be taken against those who were found provoking colleagues in the police department.
During the press conference IG Kumar also addressed that an investigation into reports of people transferring more than Rs 5 lakh into Prashant's bank account to fight the legal battle will be conducted.
Meanwhile, Vivek Tiwari's wife Kalpana has appealed to UP policemen not to participate in the protest. She also requested intervention of the UP police in the campaigns against her late husband.
(With inputs from The Times of India and India Today)
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