Hyderabad: MIM president Asaduddin Owaisi on Monday demanded an inquiry by a Supreme Court judge into the death of eight fugitives of the Students Islamic Movement of India (Simi) in an alleged encounter after they escaped from the Bhopal Central Jail after killed a guard.
Speaking to mediapersons here, Mr Owaisi said it was “surprising” that eight undertrial prisoners had escaped from the Central Prison in Bhopal which has sophisticated security systems in place.
He said the contradictory statements by Madhya Pradesh home minister Bhoopendra Singh Thakur and the police on the encounter created doubts about the encounter.
He said as per the statement of the home minister, the fugitives were armed with spoons but the Anti-Terrorist Squad was claiming that the fugitives had weapons. If the fugitives had only spoons the ATS could have easily overpowered and arrested them, Mr Owaisi said.
He pointed out that the SIMI activists were wearing watches and belts which were banned in jails and that these articles were not given to undertrials. He said that an inquiry by an apex court judge was necessary to unravel the truth behind the entire escape and their subsequent killing in an encounter. He suggested that all terror-related cases be dealt in a time-bound manner.
