Judicial commission gives clean chit to MP police in SIMI encounter case

The one-man judicial commission probing the jailbreak and encounter killings of eight activists of Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) gave a clean chit to

The one-man judicial commission probing the jailbreak and encounter killings of eight activists of Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) gave a clean chit to the Madhya Pradesh police, administrative sources said on condition of anonymity.

The MP government-appointed commission cleared the police as “there was no contradiction in the police’s and villagers’ version of events” surrounding the October 31 encounter. (Mujeeb Faruqui/HT Photo)

On the intervening night of October 30-31 last year, eight SIMI activists escaped from Bhopal central jail, allegedly killing a security guard. Within hours, a police team gunned them down on the outskirts of Bhopal.

The 12-page report was submitted by high court (retired) justice SK Pandey to additional chief secretary (general administration department) Prabhanshu Kamal on August 24. Since the report is confidential and will be made public after it is tabled in the state assembly, no official was willing to comment on record.

Sources said the report gave clean chit to the police because, “there was no contradiction between the version of events given by the villagers who witnessed the encounter and what the police said, which matched with the official documents.”

The report pulled up the jail administration for “several loopholes” in security which was “exploited” by the undertrials.

The commission was set up by the state government on November 7 but Pandey took charge only on December 5.

Pandey was given two extensions totalling nine months to complete the probe.