SIMI activists jailbreak: 5 key developments on Bhopal encounter

5 senior jail officials have been suspended & 1 transferred in the aftermath of the security lapse

Eight activists from the banned group, Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI), who pulled off a daring prison and absconded after killing a security guard from the Bhopal central jail, were hunted down and killed on Monday in a police encounter on the city outskirts.

The statement issued by the State Police Headquarters on Monday, after the killing of the SIMI activists, said: “Soon after they escaped from the jail by killing head constable Ramashankar and by tying another warden Chandan, the eight SIMI terrorists identified as Sheikh Mehboob, Amzad, Zakir Hussain, Mohammad Saliq, Majid, Khalid Ahmed, Aqueel and Sheikh Najeeb were killed in an encounter with the police at Manikheda Pathar near Eintkhedi village.”

Business Standard brings to you five key political developments on Bhopal encounter:

Shivraj orders NIA probe

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) is to probe the jail break by eight members of the SIMI terror group, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said. He also said that five senior jail officials have been suspended and one transferred in the aftermath of the security lapse at the Bhopal central jail.

Kejriwal demands SC inquiry 

Aam Aadmi Party convenor and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal demanded a Supreme Court-monitored enquiry into the alleged encounter killing of eight SIMI activists in Bhopal. He said on the micro-blogging site Twitter: "This is very serious. We demand an SC monitored investigation".

Yechury slams 'inconsistencies' in claims on SIMI activists' escape

CPI (M) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury also raised questions about whether the activists actually "escaped" the Bhopal central jail before being killed. He said on the micro-blogging site Twitter: "(The) 'Escape' of 8 under trial-prisoners from Bhopal Central Jail, & then their killing by ATS raises serious questions. There must be a time-bound Judicial Inquiry into their killings, and disturbing inconsistencies in versions of the state govt & the police," he tweeted.

Owaisi calls for SC probe

All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen chief Asaduddin Owaisi demanded an enquiry by the Supreme Court to bring out "all facts". The Hyderabad lawmaker was quoted by news agency Press Trust of India as saying: "There is huge discrepancy in what the Home Minister and the police officials are saying. The home minister of Madhya Pradesh (MP) says that these undertrials were armed with spoons. If they were armed with spoons, the MP ATS could have easily overpowered them, because ATS has all sophistacated weapons. They could have easily arrested them." "But, people who have run away from prison after assassinating a guard and they only have spoons. So, to any normal person, this theory is unbelievable," he added.

Jitendra Singh says encounter to enhance morale of nation

Union Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office Jitendra Singh said that the killing of eight SIMI activists in Bhopal hours after they escaped from a high-security prison is going to enhance the morale of the nation that "we are safe and secure". Singh was quoted by news agency Press Trust of India as saying: "The news (killing of 8 SIMI activists) is going to enhance the morale of the nation that we are safe and secure as our security agencies have capacity and capability to beat any challenge."