SIMI activists’ killing: Congress MLAs walk out of MP assembly

Bhopal, Feb 27 (IANS) Congress members on Monday walked out of the Madhya Pradesh assembly after expressing dissatisfaction over the reply given by Jails Minister Kusum Mahadele over the alleged killing of eight SIMI escapees in an allegedly staged gunfight in the state.

Earlier, Congress MLA Shailender Patel sought details of rules and their implementation vis-a-vis jail inspections etc.

In reply, the minister told the assembly that jails in Madhya Pradesh were regularly inspected and the Bhopal jail was last inspected by him on December 7.

Patel alleged that no inspection of the Bhopal jail -- from where the eight undertrials belonging to the Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) allegedly escaped on October 31, 2016, before their allegedly staged shootout killing -- had been carried out in two years before the said incident.

The Congress leader said this was the case with other state jails as well.

He pointed out that the inspection of the said prison was carried out only after the alleged escape of the SIMI activists.

Leader of Opposition Ajay Singh said the party was dissatisfied with the government reply and was, therefore, walking out of the assembly in protest.

Assembly Speaker Sita Saran Sharma directed the minister to ensure regular inspections of jails in Madhya Pradesh.

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