31 October 2016•Update: 31 October 2016
By Zahid Rafiq
SRINAGAR, Indian-held Kashmir
The official account of the killing of eight Indian prison escapees on Monday has been called into question after a video has emerged of the purported gun battle.
In the video published by Indian media outlets, policemen appear to be shooting at the escapees while they are lying on the ground, with a voice in the background urging the shooter to fire another bullet. One of the men appeared to still be alive.
According to police for the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, the eight had escaped from a prison in state capital Bhopal earlier in the morning and killed a police officer in the process.
All the eight were accused of being members of the Student Islamic Movement of India, a student organization outlawed by India in 2001. Three of the eight killed today had earlier escaped in 2013 but were caught.
The Madhya Pradesh police earlier, in its statement, had called the killing a "raging gun-battle" initiated by the escaped prisoners, who the police killed in response.
However, according to reports in the Indian media, the only weapons to be recovered from the eight slain men were knives and sharpened spoons.
The video being aired by the Indian media also does not appear to show the men in possession of any firearms.
Asaduddin Owaisi, an Indian Member of Parliament from Hyderabad and the head of the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), questioning the veracity of the purported gun battle as well as the prison break itself, suggesting it was staged.
“It is perplexing that these escaped under-trial prisoners were fully clothed, wearing shoes, had watches and bands on wrists and belts on trousers. These things are not given to prisoners undergoing trials,” Owaisi told reporters in Hyderabad, calling for an independent probe by the Indian Supreme Court.
“There is a huge discrepancy in what the Home Minister and the police officials are saying. The Home Minister of Madhya Pradesh says that these under-trials were armed with spoons. If they were armed with spoons, the Madhya Pradesh ATS could have easily overpowered them, because ATS has all sophisticated weapons. They could have easily arrested them.”
The Madhya Pradesh Home Minister, Bhupendra Singh, however, dismissed the questions raised about the official account, urging everyone to see the matter through the prism of national security.
“National security must take priority over politics. Our Madhya Pradesh Police has achieved a great success by foiling a possible terror threat to the nation. When there is an encounter, the police have no other option but to open fire. We have asked NIA [National Investigation Agency] to investigate this case so that a proper probe can be conducted," Singh said.
