MP government orders judicial probe into Bhopal jailbreak, SIMI encounter

Bhopal: The Madhya Pradesh government, reeling under pressure from the Opposition and human rights activists as well as contradictory statements from police officials, has ordered a judicial inquiry into both the Bhopal jailbreak and the ‘encounter’ of SIMI activists that followed.

Retired High Court judge SK Pandey will head the probe.

“Justice Pandey will probe all aspects related to how SIMI activists escaped from the high security jail and the encounter that took place after that,” a press release from the state government said.

Meanwhile, a report said that a sub-jailer and two guards are being investigated for the breakout of SIMI activists from Bhopal Central Jail on Diwali night.

The Crime Investigation Department (CID) has been tasked with the investigation, because of a growing suspicion of an insider hand.

One of the first points of investigation is why a key SIMI leader, suspected to be the mastermind of the plot, was shifted from Block A to Block B without the knowledge of senior officers.

There were 17 inmates in Block B, of which eight escaped after killing security guard Ram Shankar Yadav.

The report said that nine SIMI men were supposed to break out but the ninth one fell ill. But the mastermind escaped and was only gunned down in the ‘encounter’ by police later.

It is also a mystery as to how the eight managed to escape their cells. The locks of the cells are changed every night, and cannot be reached by a prisoner.

The report claimed that the eight men had already escaped their cells by the time Yadav arrived for duty on the fateful day. But after coming out of their cells, the SIMI men were still stuck because they did not have the keys to the block gates.

So they waited in the dark for Yadav to come on their rounds before pouncing on him.

But the eight were caught because a new guard posted outside the jail wall and saw them climbing over it. A headcount and search started immediately, and Yadav’s body was found.

Moreover, one of the escapees had broken his leg, which made their progress slower.

Also, the area around the jail has changed dramatically over the last 5-6 years, and hence the SIMI men lost their way.

There were 29 SIMI men in the two blocks of Bhopal jail, and a report on Thursday claimed that the eight escapees were planning to help all of the remaining ones flee as well.