CPI-ML New Democracy, Press Release

Enquire into Killings of 8 SIMI activists in Bhopal

Eight activists of SIMI have been killed by Madhya Pradesh police after they allegedly escaped from high security Bhopal jail in the early hours today i.e. 31st October, 2016. The story given to the press raises many questions about the veracity of the police claims.

Home Minister of Madhya Pradesh, Mr. Bhupendra Singh is quoted as saying that the prisoners were armed with spoons and plates with which “They attacked the police and injured them. The police had no choice but to kill them. They were dreaded terrorists.” From this statement it is clear that there were no grounds for the police to kill all of them. Mr. Singh’s statement further makes it clear that there is no need to respect the law if the concerned person is an alleged terrorist. It has dangerous portents for the democratic rights of the people. All that is required to eliminate a person is to accuse him of terrorism. It should be further kept in mind that the deceased were under trial prisoners.

There has been a systematic campaign by the RSS-BJP Govt. at the Centre and in states to show the law of the land as an impediment to dealing with alleged terrorists. There has been a concerted campaign in the media, particularly electronic media, that the law need not be followed in cases of alleged terrorists.

From the reports of this incident, a strong suspicion arises that this may be a case of killings by the police and the incident has been created to get around the requirement of the procedure to be followed in cases of custodial death.

CPI (ML)-New Democracy demands that this case be treated as custodial killings and all the legal procedure to be followed in such cases should be adhered to. Post mortems of the deceased should be conducted at a Central Hospital and video films should be recorded. Further, a judicial enquiry should be immediately ordered by a sitting judge of the High Court into this incident. Jail and police staff and officers concerned should be immediately moved out to prevent the tampering of evidence.

CPI(ML)-New Democracy

October 31, 2016