UP govt's 'thok denge' stance promotes lawlessness in state: Asaduddin Owaisi on Apple executive Vivek Tiwari's murder

Hyderabad: All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) president Asaduddin Owaisi on Monday said the Uttar Pradesh government’s ’thok denge’ stance is promoting the culture of lawlessness in the state. Owaisi’s comments come in the wake of the death of Vivek Tiwari, an Apple executive, who was shot by a police constable in Lucknow’s Gomti Nagar area on Friday. “If the chief minister of any state says things like ’thok denge’ in the state assembly, he is himself promoting this culture and behaviour with his words. Since the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government was elected, a lot of people, especially Dalits and people from the minority sections, have been killed in the name of an encounter,” he said. [caption id=“attachment_4375757” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Asaduddin Owaisi. AFP[/caption] Owaisi also cited the murder of two student leaders from the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) - Naushad and Mustakeem - as another such example of failed law and order. “There should be condemnation for the killing of Naushad and Mustakeem as well,” Owaisi said. “In Lucknow, the Apple executive, Tiwari, was shot without cause. There was no case against him, no past records. This is murder. This is happening because of the chief minister and the government’s promotion of unlawfulness,” said the AIMIM chief. Owaisi further called for an independent investigation into the incident to put an end to the “culture of killing people in the name of an encounter.” “If they (people in general) are named in criminal cases, arrest them. On the one hand, they (police) are killing them and on the other hand, they (police) are charging them under the National Security Act (NSA). There are hordes of people, poor people, who are rotting in jail because of NSA charges,” he added. “I certainly condemn Tiwari sahab’s murder and I stand with his family. But this matter will not finish as long as the BJP government sticks to their ’thok denge’ style of governance,” Owaisi added. The AIMIM chief observed that the Uttar Pradesh Police should be wary of such incidents, as eventually, these cases will land in the courts and will be investigated. “There isn’t rule of law in Uttar Pradesh, there is rule by the gun. They have failed in governance, communal riots are the highest in the state. There is a ‘Thakur-Raj’ there. This is a state from where our country’s prime minister won his seat, and hence, this is a direct reflection on him as well,” Owaisi said. Tiwari was returning home in the early hours of 29 September, when he was allegedly shot by a police constable for refusing to stop his vehicle. However, the cop in question has claimed that he fired in self-defence, as Tiwari tried to run his car over him.