LUCKNOW: Eight years after a 38-year-old Apple area sales manager Vivek Tiwari was allegedly shot dead by two cops in Lucknow, a local court on Thursday convicted constable Prashant Chaudhary of culpable homicide not amounting to murder, while acquitting co-accused constable Sandeep Kumar.The quantum of punishment will be announced on September 21.District/sessions judge Malkhan Singh held Prashant Chaudhary guilty under the charges of IPC 304 (2) (culpable homicide not amounting to murder).As per police chargesheet, Prashant was accused of IPC 302 (murder) and co-accused Sandeep of IPC 323 (voluntarily causing hurt).Soon after the judgement was pronounced, both the cops and their kin erupted in joy.Pranshu Agarwal, who represented Vivek Tiwar’s family, told TOI they will go through the detailed judgement and then file an appeal in the high court.“We are awaiting for the judgement copy in the case and also pronouncement of judgement on September 21,” said Agarwal.Vivek Tiwari, a resident of New Hyderabad colony, was driving his former colleague Sana Siddiqui to her home in his XUV around 1:30am on September 29, 2018.As they reached near Makdoompur outpost in Gomti Nagar Extension, bike-borne cops Prashant Chaudhary and Sandeep signalled them to stop.As Sana lowered the window pane to enquire about the reason, Sandeep hit her with a baton.Vivek did not stop and kept driving. At this, Prashant allegedly took out his service pistol and shot at Vivek, who had barely driven 0.5km ahead.The bullet hit Vivek and he rammed the vehicle on a divider. The two cops fled. Sana sought help from the police control room and took Vivek to Lohia Hospital where he died during treatment.An FIR against the two cops was lodged the next day and the chargesheet against them was filed on December 19, 2018.Prashant was charged with murder, while Sandeep was initially charged under Section 323.
Daughters struggle to cope with father’s death
Vivek’s daughters, aged 15 and 20, still go numb on the mention of his tragic demise.Divyanshi, who was just 7 at the time of incident, had initially been told that her dad was away in Delhi and would return soon.But now the teen girl knows the reality. Priyanshi tries to console her younger sibling every time she breaks down.Divyanshi’s favourite possession is a family drawing she made years ago depicting Vivek, Kalpana, Priyanshi, and herself.
Wife’s trauma
Vivek wife Kalpana’s life has been consumed by grief.Every corner of her home is filled with memories of her husband.As she steps into her role as Officer on Special Duty at Nagar Nigam, she carries the weight of her husband’s absence.Kalpana’s brother, Vishnu, said, “He was always there for us, guiding us, helping us. Now, all we want is justice.”
Dissatisfied with verdict, will appeal in higher court: Vivek’s wife
Kalpana Tiwari expressed strong dissatisfaction with the verdict and said she would challenge it before a higher court.Speaking after the judgment, she described the decision as disappointing and said the family had expected a harsher punishment.“We had been waiting for the court’s decision since morning and hoped that justice would be delivered. But we are disappointed with the verdict,” Kalpana said, according to the report.She questioned how a trained police constable could have made a mistake while firing his service weapon and maintained that her husband had been shot dead.Kalpana also questioned Sandeep Kumar’s acquittal, saying both constables were present at the spot and, in her view, shared responsibility for the incident.
