SIMI encounter: ATS chief contradicts police, says accused had no weapons

But Shami also said that the police were well within the law to have shot the men dead if they were dreaded terrorists.

Bhopal

: Madhya Pradesh Anti-Terror Squad (ATS) chief Sanjeev Shami said on Wednesday that the 8 SIMI men killed in an encounter by Special Task Force did not have any weapons with them.

Shami’s statement is in contradiction to that of the Inspector General of Bhopal Police, Yogesh Choudhry, who claimed on Tuesday that the men had four country-made pistols and shot at the cops who confronted them six times.

The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the state and at the Centre has also taken the line that the terrorism accused were killed because they opened fire.

But Shami also said that the police were well within the law to have shot the men dead if they thought that they were dreaded terrorists escaping.

"I stick to my stand ...I speak only the facts,” said Shami according to an NDTV report.

Post-mortem reports on Wednesday showed that the accused were shot from different directions, multiple times. Each had at least 2 bullet wounds on his body.

Three videos of the incident have gone viral on social media so far, in which the police officers are seen shooting the men who are lying dead or injured on the ground.

Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Bhupinder Singh earlier claimed that the SIMI men were preparing for "a major terror strike". Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has urged the opposition to stop claiming human rights violations to defend "terror suspects".

However, the Congress and Opposition parties like Trinamool Congress (TMC), CPI, AIMIM and others have refused to believe the official version of the incident.

The BJP government in Madhya Pradesh has refused a formal investigation into the encounter. But Bhopal IG said on Tuesday that the CID would look into the matter.