The killing of eight fugitive prisoners on trial for treason has again put the spotlight on what has come to be known as encounter killings — euphemism for cold-blooded extra-judicial murder
The killing of eight fugitive prisoners on trial for treason has again put the spotlight on what has come to be known as encounter killings — euphemism for cold-blooded extra-judicial murder.
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The eight SIMI activists escaped from the Bhopal Central Jail in the wee hours of October 31 after killing a security guard in cold blood. They slit his throat with a sharpened dinner plate from the prison before breaking out of the jail. As they escaped into the nearby Malikheda village, locals alerted the police, who surrounded them and killed them.
Unlike several other grey areas, the law, when it comes to extra-judicial killings, is very clear. There is a mechanism to suspend the police officials and institute a judicial probe. Closer home in Mumbai, following sustained coverage by this paper, policemen from Haryana who allegedly murdered a gangster in an Andheri hotel are in the dock.
In the Madhya Pradesh instance, too, the law should take its course and should be put on fast-track. The more disturbing development is one side of the public discourse following the killing of the prisoners. Comparisons are already being drawn with the so-called surgical strikes on the border in September.
Top right-wing politicians and leaders have already begun to say that one shouldn't question the police, very similar to the pro-army chorus following the cross-border strikes.
Talking heads are saying that the SIMI activists who broke out of another Madhya Pradesh jail in 2013 were involved in terror activities and that the security forces did not want to allow a repeat.
Just a cursory look will show that all these statements have the sole aim of taking the focus away from the central aspect of the incident — did the police make any efforts to capture the fugitives or were they killed in cold blood? There is already unverified video evidence that seems to show that the prisoners were murdered.
Only a thorough probe will give us the answers.
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