8 SIMI Operatives, Who Fled Bhopal Central Jail, Killed in Encounter

Bhopal: The eight terror suspects of the banned outfit Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI), who managed to escape from the Bhopal central jail early on Monday morning, were killed in an encounter on the outskirts of Bhopal near Acharpura village, police said.

State Home Minister Bhupendra Singh also confirmed the news to CNN-News18.

After receiving a tip-off from the villagers, a joint team of the ATS and Madhya Pradesh police surrounded the suspected terrorists near Acharpura village in Munaga PS and shot them dead.

The encounter lasted for about 30 minutes in which at least two policemen sustained injuries, police said.

Read: 10 Things to Know About Students Islamic Movement of India or SIMI

It is still unclear how the terror suspects reached Acharpura village which is more than 10 kilometers from the jail.

However IG Bhopal, Yogesh Choudhary who addressed the media later said that the terrorists had fire arms and they shot at the raiding party leading to a gun battle between the forces and the absconders.

Two policemen were injured during the operation, Choudhary added.

The MP government claimed that the terrorists were planning to carry out a major terror attack after fleeing from the jail.

The eight suspects had scaled the prison wall of the jail using bedsheets and had even killed a constable using a steel plate and glass.

Read: Bhopal- 8 SIMI Activists Escape From Jail After Murdering Guard; 5 Suspended

One of the accused was held responsible for plotting a bomb blast in Ahmedabad in 2008.

They were allegedly involved in attacks in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh when they were absconding for three years.

Addressing a press conference, Chief Minister Shivraj Chauhan congratulated the state police for acting swiftly in the case and said a detailed probe will be conducted in the matter.

"I spoke to Home Minister Rajnath Singh about how the National Investigation Agency should carry out the probe in the matter. He has agreed," Chauhan told the media.

Earlier, Singh had very clearly indicated lapse on the part of the jail officials and promised swift action over the incident.

State Home Minister Bhupendra Singh had claimed that the preliminary investigation established that the motive for jail break was to carry out a terror attack.