Eight members of the banned Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) were gunned down on the outskirts of Bhopal, the State capital of Madhya Pradesh within eight hours of their escape from the Bhopal Central Jail on Monday.
The eight SIMI activists had escaped at 2 am, using toothbrushes and wood to forge keys to open the locks of their jail barracks and flee, police claimed on Monday.
Madhya Pradesh Police DGP Yogesh Chaudhary told reporters on Monday evening that the SIMI activists were housed in two barracks and were among a total of 29 SIMI undertrials housed in the jail.
“They used toothbrushes and other material to make keys to the barrack doors, slit the throat of jail warden Ramashankar Yadav and tied up another jail staffer Chandan Singh before scaling the 25-feet high prison wall with the help of bedsheets,” the Director General of Police said.
Two of the SIMI activists killed on Monday were involved in a similar jailbreak in Khandwa three years ago.
Acting on leads provided by locals, the SIMI activists were tracked down to Malikheda, where they were encircled and killed when they tried to challenge the cops, a police official said.
“At around 11 am, all the eight outlaws were gunned down,” Choudhary told media persons at the site of encounter, adding that when the cops approached them, the SIMI members opened fire on the cops. “We located the eight inmates, they fired on us, and all of them were killed in the exchange of fire,” he said.
The jail Superintendent was among four officials suspended by the Madhya Pradesh Government which is going to conduct a probe into the incident.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) will also probe the jailbreak even as contradictions surfaced on the encounter.
A controversy raged over the police action after the daring pre-dawn jailbreak, as TV channels showed footage purportedly from the encounter site in which a policeman is seen pumping bullets into a man from a close range after an unidentified person takes out what appears to be a knife said to be in a plastic cover and places it back.
While, Choudhary said the fleeing SIMI activists had weapons in their possession and opened fire when confronted, Home Minister Bhupendra Singh said the undertrials used spoons and plates they carried from the prison as weapons to attack the security personnel.
Asked for his comments on the TV footage that appeared to contradict the encounter theory, he maintained that it was an encounter and police had no option but to eliminate them.
later, at 1 pm, in a quickly-convened Press conference, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan congratulated the forces on successfully tracking down the escaped convicts. “I want to congratulate our forces, but we are looking at this very seriously. The fleeing of prisoners is a serious matter,” Chouhan said. He also briefed Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh over the incident and requested him to hand over the investigation into the jailbreak to the NIA.
“This is a serious matter therefore investigation will take place, further action will be taken based on the findings. I spoke to Home Minister Rajnath Singh, I spoke about how the NIA should carry out the investigation in the matter. He agreed,” Chouhan said.
The eight SIMI members have been identified as Amzad, Zakir Hussain Sadiq, Mohammad Salik, Mujeeb Shaikh, Mehbood Guddu, Mohammad Kalid Ahmed, Aqeel and Majid. Before fleeing the jail, they had tied up another Head Constable Ramashankar.
The forces that played an important role in locating the SIMI members and gunning them down were the district police force, Counter Terrorist Group (CTG) and Anti Terrorist Squad (ATS). The encounter spot is located near Eintkhedi village under Gunga police station area.
Taking serious note of the jailbreak, the DIG Jail, Jail Superintendent, Deputy Jail Superintendent and Assistant Superintendent have been suspended. ADG Jail has been removed. Moreover, Chouhan said that investigation is going on. Investigation of the incident has been handed over to the Former DGP Nandan Dubey. After the investigation, stringent action will be taken against the culprits.
Chouhan said the decision has been taken to get the investigation done by the NIA after the discussion with the Union Minister for Home Rajnath Singh. This decision has been taken to find out any international reason behind this incident. Moreover, decision has been taken to post Sudhir Shahi on the post of ADG jail.
In the evening, the Chief Minister declared that Rs 5 lakh for the marriage of slain Head Constable’s daughter has been sanctioned, apart from Rs 10 lakh as ex-gratia besides all possible help to the family.
This is the second major jailbreak by operatives of SIMI in three years after the sensational escape by seven members of the group from a jail in Khandwa in Madhya Pradesh in 2013.
The Union Home Ministry has sought a detailed report from the State Government on the jailbreak and whether there was any lapse on the part of the jail administration and the steps taken to check such incidents.
The central security agencies were particularly anxious as four of the seven SIMI activities, who escaped from a jail in Khandwa on October 1, 2013, could be arrested only after three years and during the period of their hiding, they were involved in multiple incidents of terror and a bank robbery.
While in hiding, the SIMI men were allegedly involved in terror activities in several States including Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh.