Sir — This refers to the editorial, “Needless brouhaha” (November 2). On the face of it, the killing of SIMI activists appears to be fishy and a host of tricky questions must be answered: How come only SIMI activists escaped from captivityIJ Were they provided assistance within the jail, and then outside tooIJ True, Madhya Pradesh is not new to prison breaks. In October 2013, seven members of the banned SIMI had made a similar escape from Khandwa jail in the State. Accused of atrocious crimes, including murder, the members stabbed two constables, looted rifles and ran away with wireless sets.
While it is too early to make any categorical assertion on the Bhopal killings, a free and fair probe overseen by the courts would help greatly in clearing the air, which is thick with allegations and counter-allegations on the issue of the encounter.