By Special Correspondent, TwoCircles.net,
Solapur/Bhopal: Mahmooda Bi, mother of Khalid Muchale, one of the eight under-trial prisoners encountered on October 31, has rejected all the three ongoing state investigations in the case and has petitioned for an independent probe at the Jabalpur High Court.
Muchale and seven other under-trial prisoners who were lodged in Bhopal central prison under the allegations of being members of banned organization SIMI were killed in an encounter near Bhopal on the morning of October 31.
Following this encounter Madhya Pradesh government initially felicitated police officials involved in the encounter killing, but after pressure mounted, it ordered for enquiry into the encounter killing. Presently, the MP government has initiated three investigations: Inquiry entrusted to a Senior IPS Officer and in charge of Special Investigation team at Bhopal, a Magisterial inquiry into the matter by a Sub Divisional Magistrate Baresiya and an inquiry by a retired Judge of Madhya Pradesh High Court Justice S K Pande.
Subsequent to the controversial encounter, many petitions were filed before Jabalpur High Court including one by Mahmooda Bi praying for an independent probe into the matter. Almost all such petitions have been rejected by the High Court so far maintaining that no interference is required into already initiated inquiries. Mahmooda Bi’s writ is still pending before the High court.
Mahmooda Bi has rejected all the investigations directed by MP government and said, “No matter how many inquiries are initiated to investigate the matter, it will yield no reasonable results unless such inquiries are done out of the influence of the authority whose genuineness in handling the matter is challenged.”
“How can it be the fair investigation when the order for probe itself calls my son a ‘SIMI terrorist’ even though he was only an undertrial prison and none of the court ever judged him to be a member of any banned organization?”, she questioned.
She was referring to the November 2, 2016 order of District Magistrate, Bhopal for a Magisterial Inquiry in which the deceased undertrial prisoners were regularly referred to as “SIMI terrorist”.
“My son had a problem in his one leg and it was impossible for him to jump from even the height of 3 feet, but jail break is not being investigated in by this inquiry”, she further said.
Mahmooda Bi also objected to the probe under retired High Court Judge S K Pande as she says the order of inquiry by MP government to him clearly states that the undertrial prisoners were ‘faraar’ (absconding) and thus restricts the commission from conducting inquiry into the alleged jail break assuming it to be indisputable.
Mahmooda Bi’s Counsel Advocate Pathan, who filed the writ petition, told TwoCirlces.net, “When the accusations are directed against the local police personnel then it would be desirable to entrust the investigation to an independent agency”.
He also added, “Even the orders of probe by the MP authority itself pre-judge jailbreak to be a genuine one and calls eight deceased under trials as terrorist. Then how can one rely on the outcome of the investigations? For the fair probe, the probe should be handed over to the agency over which MP government will have no control”.
Pathan further said that Mahmooda Bi had also asked for an inquiry into the alleged killing of head constable Ramakant Yadav inside prison on the fateful night.
“The death of Ramakant Yadav should have been made part of the investigation by the MP government but surprisingly it is missing from the entire probe ordered by the state”, Pathan stated raising substantial doubt over state.