Bhopal/New Delhi: Eight undertrials killed in the alleged gunfight on Monday were not armed, Madhya Pradesh’s anti-terror squad (ATS) chief Sanjeev Shami told the media on Wednesday, contradicting the state’s narrative that they were shot when they fired upon the police.
“It is well settled in law when police can use force and kill. The eight were dreaded criminals. The police can use maximum force if it feels such men can escape,” Mr Shami said.
This might bolster several allegations that the suspected members of the banned Simi were killed in cold blood. The police said on Monday that it tracked down and shot dead the eight, hours after they allegedly escaped from Bhopal’s high-security prison.
The police earlier had claimed that it found four country-made revolvers and sharp weapons on those killed.
All Simi activists were shot at least twice
Mr Shami said he stands by his account. His statement came as calls from the families of those dead, Opposition parties and human rights bodies for an independent probe continued to mount, given country’s dodgy record of extra-judicial killings. The government has said the national investigative agency will probe only the jailbreak and not the “encounter”.
News channels quoted post-mortem reports to claim the eight were shot in the head, chest, feet and in the back. Each man was shot at least twice, the reports said, adding there were multiple entry and exit wounds, mostly above the waist.
MP Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, his home and prison ministers have defended “the killing of the terrorists”, while at least four Central ministers have backed the CM, asking people to respect national security”, underlining the government’s increasing discomfort with public scrutiny of counter-terrorism operations.
The eight were awaiting trial in cases of alleged “terror-related activities, besides sedition and robbery”. Banned in 2001, the outfit is accused of carrying out bombings and of having links with terror groups.
Senior Supreme Court lawyer K.T.S. Tulsi called the encounter fake, a day after the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) sought en explanation from the state government, taking into account a string of unanswered questions, some video clips and conflicting official versions.
Meanwhile, an SIT formed by MP Police inspected the site of encounter while a separate investigation began into the jailbreak by extremists by recreating the scene.
