In the few days that followed after the Bhopal jail break, the MP Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has ordered a judicial probe for the alleged encounter of the eight SIMI activists from the Bhopal Central Jail.
As per media reports, allegations have been made that the activists had escaped because there were over 80 guards missing from the grounds of the prison. TV sources also asserted that the guards were posted on duty at the homes and offices of the Chief Minister, Jail Minister, former Jail Ministers, jail officials, and even the jail headquarters.
While State jail minister Kusum Mehdele denied allegations that ministers, ex-ministers and prison officials had availed more security, she stated that the matter will be looked into and required action will be taken, if need be.
The judicial probe into the incident will be conducted by retired HC Judge S K Pandey. A Public IL was also filed in the Madhya Pradesh HC on the issue demanding the same.
The undertrial activists of the outlawed SIMI escaped from the central jail here on the intervening night of October 30-31 and were subsequently killed in an encounter on the outskirts of the city on October 31. Before escaping the central prison, the SIMI activists also killed a head constable Ramashankar Yadav. However, ever since the encounter took place, conflicting versions from police and state Home Minster surfaced, leading to allegations that it might be fake.
At the same time, a controversy also raged over the police action following the daring pre-dawn jail-break, after TV channels showed footage purportedly from the encounter site in which a policeman is seen pumping bullets into a man from close range after some unidentified person takes out what appears to be a knife said to be in a plastic cover and places it back.