Top Apple executive killed in alleged police firing, cop arrested
Lucknow, Sep 29 : An Uttar Pradesh constable was on Saturday arrested and booked for murder after he shot a young Apple executive from close range, an official said.
The police constable failing to stop Apple sales manager Vivek Tiwari during a checking, chased him and shot him in the neck, killing him, colleague of the deceased said.
The incident happened at around 1.30 a.m., when Tiwari was heading home after the launch of iPhone X plus along with Sana Khan, his colleague.
She said after they were fired at, Tiwari got scared and hit the car against a pillar of an underpass and sustained more injuries.
Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Lucknow Kalanidhi Naithani said constable Prashant Chowdhary has been booked for murder after Khan filed an FIR.
According to the police, when the constable at Gomtinagar extension signalled Tiwari to stop for checking, he tried to flee.
Tiwari sped away and hit a bike rode by two constables, who then chased him and shot him. The constable fired in self-defence, an officer said.
A second policeman has also been arrested and medical examination of both was underway to ascertain whether they were drunk when the incident took place, an official informed.
A post-mortem is being conducted to know whether Tiwari died of bullet injury or injuries sustained after his vehicle hit the pillar, the official said.
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Silk output declines in Karnataka as pests force farmers to switch crops: Report
Bengaluru: Karnataka, India’s leading producer of silk, is witnessing a sharp decline in raw silk output this year, as pest outbreaks and rising input costs drive sericulture farmers to shift away from the crop in favour of fruits, vegetables, and flowers.
The Central Silk Board (CSB) has projected India’s total raw silk production at 30,614 tonnes for the 2024-25 marketing year (April-December) — a significant drop from last year’s 38,913 tonnes, as reported by Deccan Herald on Sunday.
“The data is provisional and does not include estimates of raw silk produced between January and April, production may cross 38,000 to 40,000 MT,” DH quoted Kumaresan Periasamy, scientist, Central Silk Board, as saying.
Despite optimism shown by the official, ground reports from key sericulture hubs such as Sidlaghatta and Ramanagara — popular for cocoon markets and silk reeling — paint a grim picture.
“There have been many diseases that have affected the mulberry crop in the past five years. As a result, many have shifted out of the profession,” DH quoted a farmer from Sidlaghatta as saying. He noted that over the years, labour shortages, escalating costs, and recurring pest and disease outbreaks have severely impacted the viability of sericulture.
While a kilogram of the crossbreed variety of silkworm cocoons can fetch up to Rs 650, input costs have risen to Rs 500 per kg, the report added.
Many farmers who have quit sericulture have reportedly moved on to growing fruits, flowers, and vegetables.
Karnataka, which contributes around 40 percent of the nation’s silk, produced nearly 29,000 tonnes of mulberry silk alone in 2023–24. However, the state’s dominance is being challenged by a combination of factors, including stagnant cocoon prices, stiff competition from Chinese silk imports, and spiralling production costs.
