The findings of the investigation into the murder of Apple executive Vivek Tewari, 38, who was shot dead by constable Prashant Chowdhary in September this year, suggest that the entire sequence of events took place in just 37 seconds.

According to investigators, the findings confirmed that the SUV was moving at a slow speed when the two constables, Prashant Chowdhary and Sandip Kumar, intercepted it.

Chowdhary had earlier claimed that he went to check the SUV after finding it parked under mysterious circumstances on the roadside and opened fire when the SUV rider tried to run him over.

The constable had tried to justify his claims by showing the damage caused to his patrol motorcycle and the injury on his right knee.

“In three CCTV footage, Tewari’s SUV and the constables’ patrol motorcycle are seen moving away from the spot. The SUV is seen rushing in speed probably after the gunshot was fired. The entire duration of the footage is just 37 seconds,” an SIT member, who did not wish to be named, said.

He said it was established through video footage that the SUV in which Tewari and his ex-colleague Sana Khan were travelling reached the spot after crossing Maqdoompur police outpost at 1.30 am.

The SIT member said the two constables, who were on night patrol, were coming from the road towards the underpass and intercepted the slow moving SUV by reaching to it by driving the motorcycle from wrong side of the road.

He said Prashant, who had service pistol with him, was driving the motorcycle while Sandeep, who was holding an Insas rifle and baton, was riding the pillion.

“Sandip walked down to the SUV and tried to put the baton into the open window from the side of Sana. The SUV slightly hit the patrol motorcycle on which Chowdhary was sitting when Tewari tried to move on. Prashant fell on the road on which Tewari reversed his SUV to go from other side. But by then, Prashant stood up and fired with his service pistol,” he said.

The officer said that Chowdhary had claimed that he opened fire in self-defence as the SUV rider was trying to mow him down.

“His claim is false as the SIT findings clearly suggest that he was standing on the left side on the roadside while the SUV driver tried to flee from the right side. Forensic experts have also confirmed that the impact of SUV hitting the motorcycle was not so high to suggest that the SUV driver’s intention was to hurt him,” he said.

The SIT official said the probe also confirmed that Chowdhary whipped out his pistol, opened the safety lock, cocked the pistol and then fired by aiming at Tewari. During this period, the two constables did not have any interaction and hence it was established that Sandeep had no role in the killing.

“Neither Chowdhary had any personal enmity with Tewari or Sana nor were they criminals. Still, he opened fire without realising that his act may kill anyone. Even after shooting Tewari, Chowdhary gave only partial details of the incident to his senior officers and tried to mislead them,” he added.

Meanwhile, Sandeep’s father Satyendra Rana thanked the SIT for giving clean chit to his son on murder charges. “Sandip should be punished for his role but not for a murder that he did not commit,” he said.

First Published: Dec 20, 2018 13:22 IST