Lucknow: A sessions court in Lucknow on Monday sentenced constable Prashant Kumar Chaudhary to 10 years rigorous imprisonment for the murder of Apple company executive Vivek Tiwari, 38, in 2018.The court also imposed a fine of Rs 20,000. If he failed to pay the fine then Chaudhary would have to undergo an additional two months’ imprisonment. The court also directed that the period already spent by him in custody during the investigation, inquiry and trial be set off against the sentence.Sessions judge Malkhan Singh had on Sept 17 convicted Chaudhary, 36, under Section 304 Part II of the IPC, holding that his act fell within the scope of culpable homicide not amounting to murder.The court had acquitted co-accused constable Sandeep Kumar of charges under Section 323 and Section 302 read with Section 114 of the IPC. Sandeep, who was on bail, was directed to furnish a personal bond of Rs 20,000 along with two sureties of the same amount.In its Sept 17 judgement, the court concluded that the act committed by Chaudhary came within the exceptions to Section 300 of the IPC and was punishable under Part II of Section 304.District Govt Council criminal Rakesh Pandey had argued that Chaudhary acted in a cruel manner, leading to the death of Tiwari. He said Chaudhary was a trained police officer who had received arms and behavioural training and, therefore, was expected to act responsibly while performing his duties.Prosecution lawyer Pranshu Agarwal argued that the circumstances warranted the maximum punishment and relied on Supreme Court judgments.Chaudhary’s counsel Mukul Joshi urged the court to consider the period he had already spent in custody. Joshi also told the court that Chaudhary’s marriage ended in divorce in 2023, while the case was pending.Seeking leniency in punishment, Joshi further told the court that Chaudhary’s parents are old while his younger brother is unmarried. Joshi submitted that Chaudhary had no previous criminal history and had never been convicted by any court. He was arrested on Sept 29, 2018, and has remained in jail since then, completing about eight years in detention by the time of the sentencing.To recall, Vivek was going to drop his former colleague Sana Siddiqui home in his SUV around 1:30am on Sept 29, 2018, when the two bike-borne cops signalled them to stop in Gomti Nagar Extension.As Sana lowered the windowpane to enquire about the reason, Sandeep hit her with a baton. Vivek did not stop and kept driving. Prashant then took out his service pistol and shot at Vivek. The bullet pierced through the car’s window and hit Vivek, who lost control and the vehicle crashed into a divider. While the two cops fled, Sana sought help from the police control room and took Vivek to hospital, where he died during treatment.Two FIRs were lodged in the case — one against two unidentified cops by Sana, and later a second by Vivek’s wife Kalpana naming Sandeep and Chaudhary as the accused cops. The chargesheet against them was filed on Dec 19, 2018.BOX:It’s injustice, will appeal against verdict: Vivek’s wifeVivek Tiwari’s family termed the verdict as “injustice” and said they will challenge Chaudhary’s 10-year sentence and Sandeep Kumar’s acquittal in the higher court. “This is injustice and no justice for us,” Kalpana said, questioning how a trained police constable could have made a mistake while firing his service weapon. He maintained that the family considered the incident a clear case of murder. Kalpana said the family considered the judgment half and would pursue legal remedies against both aspects of the order. Family’s counsel Pranshu Agarwal told TOI that they will file a criminal appeal in the high court.
