CM Chouhan attacks opposition’s ‘petty politics’ over killing of SIMI men

Mangalore Today News Network

Bhopal, Nov 01, 2016: Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Tuesday accused opposition leaders, who have questioned the authenticity of the encounter between the eight suspected SIMI men and the police in Bhopal, of indulging in petty politics and belittling the sacrifice of a prison guard who was killed by them.

Chouhan was talking to reporters after attending the funeral of head constable Ramashankar Yadav, who was allegedly killed by the 8 men of the banned Students Islamic Federation of India (SIMI) before escaping from the Bhopal Central Jail early on Monday.

Police killed the men hours after they escaped from the high-security jail in Bhopal at Acharpura village.

“They (politicians) should have spoken a few words on them (policemen) too. But they didn’t see Yadav’s sacrifice and the tears in the eyes of his family members. They should desist from such petty politics,” Chouhan said.

CM consoled Yadav’s family and assured them of all possible help. On Monday, he announced an ex-gratia payment of Rs 15 lakh to the kin of Yadav. The amount includes Rs 5 lakh meant for the wedding of Yadav’s daughter.

Senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh has demanded a court-monitored probe into the case as well as a judicial inquiry into the functioning of the jail.

In a series of tweets in Hindi, Singh alleged that the terrorists were killed as the police feared they would make some revelations.

“If all of them would have been caught alive they would have given information about the whole incident and also revealed the sequence of events. Perhaps, that is why they were gunned down,” Singh claimed.

Meanwhile, Madhya Pradesh Human Rights Commission took cognizance of the killings and has asked the Bhopal inspector general of police, Yogesh Chaudhary, to submit a report on the encounter.

“However, it’s a routine exercise for the commission to ask for a report on any such encounter,” an MPHRC official said.