SIMI encounter: Examining videos to verify autheticity, says Bhopal IG

Bhopal: Bhopal Inspector General Yogesh Chaudhary on Tuesday said that the 8 SIMI terror suspects killed in encounter on Monday had fired six rounds at the Special Task Force (STF) officers.

According to a report in NDTV, Chaudhary however claimed that three policemen were injured, not with bullets, but with sharp weapons.

(The authenticity of the above video has not been verified)

He said four country-made guns were found on the men. "How they got the guns, we have to investigate," he said.

The police officer said videos of the encounter are also being examined to ascertain whether they are genuine.

(The authenticity of the above video has not been verified)

One video shows a policeman shooting at an inert body, and hours later, another that was interpreted as showing that the police shot suspects even though they wanted to surrender.

Opposition parties have questioned whether the men - who were yet to be tried for charges like terror, murder and robbery - could have been captured.

Eight terror suspects, members of the banned Students Islamic Movement of India (Simi), were gunned down on Monday in an alleged encounter at Entikheda, 15 kilometres from Bhopal.

Nine hours earlier, in a daring pre-dawn jailbreak, the eight operatives had scaled the 32-ft high jail boundary wall by using a rope made out of bedsheets after holding an under-trial prisoner hostage and then killing security guard Ram Shankar Yadav by slitting his throat with a sharp weapon fashioned from a spoon.

While Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said the escapees were a threat to the nation, and state home minister Bhupendra Singh said the eight were plotting a terror attack, the Centre has asked the National Investigative Agency (NIA) to probe the incident. Union home minister Rajnath Singh has sought a detailed report.

Soon after the “encounter”, a video purportedly showing a jawan firing from a close range on a motionless SIMI member went viral, sparking outrage among human rights activists.

While Digvijay Singh said repeated jailbreaks suggest a larger conspiracy, his colleague Kamal Nath said, “Now we can’t get any information as all of them died, there should be a judicial probe.”

No official explained why the eight stuck together, and did not disperse. Other unanswered questions included if they only had sharpened spoons for weapons, why they were shot; and if they indeed fired on the police, from where they got arms. Those killed also wore sports shoes and jeans and not the usual prison attire, post-operation photographs showed.

The eight were identified as Mohd Akil Khilji, Meheboob Guddu, Mohd Khalid Ahmed, Mujib Sheikh, Amzad Khan, Zakir Hussein Sheikh, Mohd Salik and Abdul Majid.