Deputy Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Keshav Prasad Maurya, on Sunday visited the family members of Vivek Tiwari, who was allegedly shot dead by a police constable in Lucknow's Gomti Nagar area on Friday.
Maurya's visit comes a day after Tiwari's kin threatened to take his body to Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's residence if he failed to visit them and address their grievances.
"First and foremost, the government is equally saddened with the tragedy that took place on Friday night. We, too, are grieving along with the victim's family members. We will ensure the family gets due justice and punish the accused in accordance with the law. The government will take every possible step to make sure such an incident is averted in the days to come. We are also ready to assist the Uttar Pradesh police in investigating the matter as well," Maurya told reporters here after visiting Tiwari's family.
In the wake of the incident, the Uttar Pradesh police have decided to give protection to Tiwari's family, and assured of a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) inquiry into the matter, if needed.
"A 24-hour protection will be given to the family. A CBI inquiry will also be initiated if the family asks for it. A Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe under Lucknow Inspector General Sujeet Pandey will be taken forward on the basis of a fresh FIR that will be lodged by the family," Lucknow Additional Director General (ADG) Rajiv Krishna told reporters here.
Earlier in the day, the SIT arrived at the spot of the incident in Lucknow's Gomti Nagar extension, where Tiwari was killed.
An employee of Apple Inc, Tiwari was returning home in the early hours of Saturday, when he was allegedly shot by patrolling cops for refusing to stop his vehicle.
While the constable claims that he fired at Tiwari's car in self-defence as it tried to run over his bike, the incident has raised questions over police's excessive use of force on Tiwari.
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