Murdered Apple executive cremated, ministers face family ire
Lucknow, Sep 30 : Apple executive Vivek Tiwari, shot dead by a policeman on Saturday after he did not stop his vehicle during checking, was cremated here on Sunday amid heart rending scenes.
The last rites took place at the Bhainsakund crematorium.
Medical Education Minister Ashutosh Tandon and Law Minister Brajesh Pathak, who went to attend the cremation, faced a hostile reception as angry relatives charged them with being a part of a "trigger happy" system.
Pathak had a tough time calming the relatives and he assured all possible help to them, now and always. He promised that the guilty policemen will not be spared for their criminal action.
Kalpana Tiwari, the distraught widow of the Apple area sales manager, remained adamant that she be allowed to meet Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and that the state government give her a compensation of Rs 1 crore.
"I am worried about the future of my two daughters... They have snatched away the lone bread earner of the family. I will not relent till justice is done," she said between sobs.
The state government late on Saturday announced a Rs 25 lakh compensation to the family of the deceased and a job to Kalpana Tiwari in the Lucknow Municipal Corporation.
This, the family says, was not enough for the family to lead their lives and sustain the education and other expenses of the two daughters of Tiwari, who was shot by police constable Prashant Chowdhary after a late night chase of his car.
The policeman alleged that they found Vivek Tiwari's vehicle suspiciously parked and that when they tried to ask him to come out, he sped away after knocking down their mobike.
In a statement, the accused constable has claimed that he was hurt in the incident and his bike was damaged.
This was, however, found to be untrue in the initial probe. The constable has been suspended and sent to jail on charges of murder.
He and his companion Santosh Kumar have been dismissed from service on the directive of Director General of Police O.P. Singh who has since tendered an apology for the action of the men in uniform.
A complaint was also lodged against the two constables at the Gomtinagar police station by the widow of the deceased.
An FIR was separately lodged on Saturday based on the complaint of Sana Khan, a colleague of Tiwari who alleged that the constable shot him from close range without any provocation.
The state government has set up a special investigative team (SIT) to probe the killing which has caused outrage.
Vishnu Tiwari, brother-in-law of the deceased, said they had no faith in the SIT probe as it would try to save fellow policemen. He sought a CBI probe into the matter and security for the family of the deceased.
The family has alleged that Prashant Chowdhary, the accused constable, was drunk and was demanding money from Tiwari. On failing to get any money, he opened fire.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
NATO, others turn down US call for help in Hormuz: Trump
Washington (PTI): President Donald Trump on Tuesday said NATO and most of US' other allies have rejected his calls to help secure the Strait of Hormuz as the war with Iran entered the third week.
In a social media post, Trump asserted that Iran’s military has been “decimated” and he no longer felt the need for assistance from NATO countries or anyone else.
Last week, Trump had sought help from European nations and others who depend on oil supplies transiting from the Hormuz Strait to safeguard the critical waterway.
“The United States has been informed by most of our NATO “Allies” that they don’t want to get involved with our Military Operation against the Terrorist Regime of Iran, in the Middle East, this, despite the fact that almost every Country strongly agreed with what we are doing, and that Iran cannot, in any way, shape, or form, be allowed to have a Nuclear Weapon,” the US President said in a post on Truth Social.
Iran's attacks on Gulf nations and its grip on the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world's oil is transported, have sparked increasing concerns of a global energy crisis and are unnerving the world economy.
“I am not surprised by their action, however, because I always considered NATO, where we spend Hundreds of Billions of Dollars per year protecting these same Countries, to be a one-way street — We will protect them, but they will do nothing for us, in particular, in a time of need,” Trump said.
He said Australia, Japan and South Korea too have turned down his call for help.
“Fortunately, we have decimated Iran’s Military – Their Navy is gone, their Air Force is gone, their Anti-Aircraft and Radar is gone and perhaps, most importantly, their Leaders, at virtually every level, are gone, never to threaten us, our Middle Eastern Allies, or the World, again,” Trump said.
He said that given the scale of recent military successes, the US no longer "need" or desires assistance from NATO countries, adding that it never relied on such support in the first place.
Speaking as President of the United States, the "most powerful" country in the world, "we do not need" help from anyone, Trump said.
The West Asia conflict began on February 28 when the US-Israeli combine conducted airstrikes on Iran.
The Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway that connects the Persian Gulf to the open ocean, has effectively been shut following the US and Israel attack on Iran and Tehran's sweeping retaliation.
However, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi had said that from Tehran's "perspective", the strait is "open". "It is only closed to Iran's enemies, to those who carried out unjust aggression against our country and to their allies.”
Earlier in the day, a second Indian-flagged LPG tanker, Nanda Devi, reached the country after safely sailing from the war-hit Strait of Hormuz. On Monday, the first ship, Shivalik, reached Mundra port in Gujarat.
As of now, 22 Indian vessels remain on the west side and two on the east side of the strait.
Indian authorities are in constant touch with all the relevant stakeholders in the region to secure the safe passage of the remaining ships, officials said.
