Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh spoke to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Saturday and asked him to take effective action in connection with the killing of man allegedly by police in Lucknow.
Thirty-eight-year-old Vivek Tiwari was shot dead early Saturday morning by a policeman when the former allegedly refused to stop his car for checking in Lucknow's posh Gomti Nagar neighbourhood, the police said.
Vivek’s wife, Kalpana Tiwari is shattered and is demanding a CBI enquiry. “Why did police kill him without any warning? He was not a criminal. We want the chief minister to announce a CBI investigation into his death to ensure the strictest punishment to his killers,” as told to the Hindustan Times.
“My husband was not a terrorist; neither was he carrying a gun. How can police shoot at an unarmed person so easily.”Kalpana Tiwari , Vivek’s wife (As told to the Hindustan Times)
“I spoke to Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in connection with the Vivek Tiwari case in Lucknow. I have asked the chief minister to take effective and just action in the matter,” the Home Minister tweeted in Hindi.
A Home Ministry official said that during the telephonic conversation, Singh asked the chief minister to take strong action so that justice can be delivered to the victim.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said a CBI inquiry will be recommended if needed.
Echoing the demand for Adityanath's resignation, Congress Legislature Party leader Ajay Kumar Lallu alleged that the incident exposed the real character of the Bharatiya Janata Party, which had come to power on the promise of ending “goonda raj” and “jungle raj”.
“Those who have the responsibility of checking crime, are flouting human rights for the lure of praise. Since the chief minister is holding the home department, he needs to resign on moral grounds,” said the Congress leader.
Terming the death of the techie, who was shot dead on Friday night on 28 September, an example of the dismal law and order situation in Uttar Pradesh, the opposition parties have demanded the resignation of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.
“Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav, who is presently in Madhya Pradesh, has termed the killing a result of the prevailing 'jungle raj' and demanded the resignation of Chief Minister Yogi,” Samajwadi Party spokesperson Rajendra Chaudhary told PTI.
“The language of the Chief Minister, who advocates encounters, has been haughty and this has led to the audacity among the policemen. Governor Ram Naik has also been speaking about improvement in law and order, but it is not actually happening. The chief minister need to take moral responsibility of this and resign,” Chaudhary added.
Two constables have been arrested in connection with the gunning down of 38-year-old Apple executive Vivek Tiwari, when he allegedly refused to stop his car for checking in Lucknow's posh Gomti Nagar area.
In a tweet, Aam Aadmi Party spokesperson Sanjay Singh said, “Earlier, the slogan was 'muskuraiye ki aap Lucknow mein hain', (Smile, you are in Lucknow)”.
“Yogi kay raj mein ghabraiye ki aap Lucknow mein hai. Apka kahin bhi encounter ho sakta hai (Under Yogi raj, one should be scared if he’s in Lucknow. You can be shot at as part of an encounter anywhere),” he tweeted in Hindi.
(With inputs from PTI)
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