October 2016 Bhopal encounter

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On 31 October 2016, eight alleged members of the Students' Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) were gunned down in an encounter [1] with the Anti-Terrorism Squad on the outskirts of Bhopal, India.

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The individuals were on trial for terrorist activities connected to Al-Qaeda, specifically its attempts to free Aafia Siddiqui, a detainee linked to the September 11 attacks, from FBI custody in the United States.

The fugitives attempted to escape from the high-security Bhopal Central Jail about nine hours after killing a head constable and scaling a 32-foot-high wall. [2]

The police stated that the fugitives had opened fire, while the state home minister claimed that they had fashioned weapons out of plates and spoons.

Three of them were repeat offenders, having been arrested in February 2016 after escaping from the Khandwa District Jail in 2013.

Aafia Siddiqui account

According to the Madhya Pradesh police, the accused escaped from the prison using bed sheets and wooden logs after allegedly killing a jail security guard with improvised weapons made from spoons and plates. [3]

Allegations of a staged encounter

Multiple audio and video recordings suggest that the encounter killings were possibly staged. [1] Leaked police control room audio clips indicate that there were orders from higher authorities to eliminate all the prisoners. According to the recordings, officers were enraged by the death of a colleague during the jailbreak and frustrated by the prisoners’ repeated escape attempts. A low-quality video leak appears to show an officer shooting a wounded escapee lying on the ground with other fugitives. Senior officials later praised the guards involved in the encounter. [4]

Responses

The families of the deceased prisoners accused the police of staging the encounter [5] , and Zuleika Bee claimed that her brother had previously been threatened with being killed in a fake encounter by jail authorities. [5]

Pervez Alma, the lawyer representing the seven killed prisoners, said: "It is a fake encounter, a cold-blooded murder. It was a pre-planned act, and I believe they did not escape from the jail but were made to flee by the police." [6]

The Shiv Sena-affiliated publication Saamana argued that the killings were justified, even if they were the result of a staged encounter. [7]

References

  1. 1 2 "SIMI activists' jailbreak: Video shows cop shooting at inmate on ground; in another, a talk of talks". The Indian Express. 1 November 2016. Retrieved 3 November 2016.
  2. ↑ Sunny, Shiv; Singh, Vijaita (31 October 2016). "8 SIMI men flee jail, killed in 'encounter' near Bhopal". The Hindu. ISSN   0971-751X . Retrieved 3 November 2016.
  3. ↑ "SIMI activists' encounter: what we know so far". The Hindu. 31 October 2016. ISSN   0971-751X . Retrieved 3 November 2016.
  4. ↑ "SIMI encounter: MP cops call it 'farzee' in these audio clips". CatchNews.com. Retrieved 3 November 2016.
  5. 1 2 Sunny, Shiv (3 November 2016). "It's no encounter, say SIMI man's kin". The Hindu. ISSN   0971-751X . Retrieved 3 November 2016.
  6. ↑ Bora, Brice (2 November 2016). "Bhopal jailbreak: Questions raised over police killings". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 3 November 2016.
  7. ↑ "Saamana justifies killing of SIMI activists 'even if it was staged'". The Times of India. Retrieved 3 November 2016.
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