Kin of slain SIMI men seek probe into ‘staged encounter’

BHOPAL: She was supposed to meet her son on Bhai Dooj, a day jail authorities allow inmates to interactwithwomenrelatives.Butwhen alleged Indian Mujahideen and SIMI operative Mujeeb Sheikh’s mother arrived in the state capital on Tuesday, it was to collect the body of her son from the mortuary.

“The last time I saw my son was on Bakra-Eid, and he asked me to bring his favourite dishes during my next visit. He was an intelligent boy, a software engineer. But he is no more now. The police have killed him in a fake encounter,” said his mother, who arrived here from Ahmedabad with her husband. Mujeeb was arrested in June 2011.

The relatives of the eight SIMI operatives killed in the encounter also alleged that the incident was staged, and demanded a high-level judicial inquiry or CBI probe.

Shabir Hussein Nagori, brother-in-law of slain SIMI operative AbdulMajid,saidthedotsjustdon’t connect as far as the police version of the story is concerned. “We have no doubt it was staged. If they could getweapons,shoesandclothessoon aftertheirescape,whycouldn’tthey manage a vehicle? Why would they runawayandexposethemselveson a hillock?” he asked, adding that they have written to the President.

Mohammad Jalil, younger brother of undertrial Mohammad Aqeel Khilji, also expressed reservations regarding the police version. Khilji was arrested from Maharashtra’sAurangabaddistrict in 2012. “Local villagers said they heard no gunshots, but police claim theyrecoveredfirearmsfromthem. Can you believe it? And they were all killed. Such a clear-cut operation!” he exclaimed.

Slain SIMI member Mehboob Guddu was only left with his grandfather Sherkhan Kallan to collect his body. While his father is no more, his mother is lodged in an Odisha jail. “I don’t know what to do. I don’t even know whether they have informed Mehboob’s mother about his death,” he lamented.

LawyerParvezAlam,whorepresented the SIMI operatives in court, claimed the police’s version was based on pure fantasy. “Can you believe the escapees used keys made of toothbrushes and tongue cleaners to open eight different locks? I will soon file a writ petition in the HC and demand a high-level judicial or CBI probe,” he said.