SIMI men taken out of MP jail and shot dead, says lawyer NGO files case against city pub for blasphemy over Christian decor

A lawyer for a group of slain Islamist radicals said on Wednesday they were taken out of jail and killed by police in a fake encounter on the outskirts of Madhya Pradesh’s capital.

Parvej Alam, who represented seven of the eight members of the Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI), also cited multiple bullet wounds above the waist to debunk the government’s claims that police retaliated when the militants fired on the security men.

The government says the SIMI members allegedly broke out of the high-security Bhopal central jail after killing a warder on Monday and were gunned down by security personnel on a desolate stretch on the outskirts of Bhopal.

The Mumbai police have registered a case against popular pub Goregaon Social, which has outlets across the nation, for hurting religious sentiments, after an NGO complained about its ambience. Activists of Watchdog Foundation, Nicholas Almeida and Godfrey Pimenta, on Wednesday approached the Dindoshi police to register a formal complaint against the pub owner.

The activists issued a statement that said, “There are stainedglass pictures of saints with funny names written thereunder. The bar area has a backdrop of a Tabernacle set up. Even the seating arrangement in the bar is church Pews. The messages inscribed on the benches are from the Holy Bible.”

The NGO likened the depictions in the pub to be “outrageous” and “nothing short of blasphemy to Christianity.”

Almeida said he has registered a complaint against the pub.

HT contacted Impresario Handmade Restaurants, which owns the pub chain. However, a representativesaid,“Mr.VinodPandey, who would issue the statement is not available. There will not be a commentfromthecompanytoday.”

A 20-year old woman from Andheri (East) with dengue infection died at KEM Hospital, Parel on October 17, according to the civic body’s latest health report.

This was the fifth dengue death this year. Last month, 228 confirmed cases of dengue and 4,098 probable cases were reported across civic hospitals, officials confirmed.

The woman was an engineering student studying at Jalgaon and had come back home to Mumbai for treatment. The woman was initially admitted to Rajawadi hospital, Ghatkopar, with complaints of fever and chills.

She was shifted to KEM hospital, Parel, after she stopped responding to treatment.

Officials said inspections were conducted in the vicinity of her residence to identify probable dengue patients.

Of the 1,015 individuals screened across 285 houses, three cases of fever were detected and were referred to nearby dispensaries.