By TwoCircles.net Staff Reporter,
Hyderabad: The Telangana government was extremely cautious in the whole episode of Nalgonda encounter where two alleged fugitive SIMI men and a police officer were killed. On Saturday evening the state Home Minister Nayani Narsimha Reddy out rightly denied that assailants had any terror link and called them an interstate dacoit gang. Even DGP Anurag Sharma was tight lipped on the whole sensational episode.
Later, on Sunday evening in the midst of growing desperation in the media, the DGP finally released a statement confirming what many in the media were crying since Saturday morning; that the two deceased assailants were alleged SIMI men Mohammad Aijazuddin and Mohammad Aslam, fugitives from the 2013 Khandwa jail break episode.
File photo of five terror suspects who escaped from a jail in Madhya Pradesh in October 2013. (Credit: ndtv.com)
The DGP statement cautiously stated that confirmation is made only after identification of the deceased by a Madhya Pradesh police team.
But it is hard to believe that Telangana police which had received a circular from Union Home Ministry in relation to the jail break gang did not have any information for identification of those people.
Certain sections of the media reported that the government delayed the announcement of identity of the assailants as it did not want to take any risk on the eve Hanuman Jayanti in the communally charged atmosphere.
But a source from the ruling TRS, close to Home Minister’s office, who wished to remain anonymous, told TwoCircles.net, “Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao didn’t want to end up suffering like (West Bengal chief minister) Mamata Banerjee did on the event of the Burdwan blast. He knew how the NIA played in the hands of Centre in dealing with the Burdwan blast and how state government was targeted. The fear of NIA’s avatar as new ‘counter terror CBI’ in the hands of the Centre dictated state government’s cautious decisions.”
It was no surprise that the state BJP, since the news of the encounter with ‘SIMI terrorists’ broke, started demanding a probe by NIA. Sate BJP president Kishan Reddy in a press conference, pitching for an NIA probe claimed that “ISI elements in the state provided SIMI men with logistical support.”
The link of Khandwa jail break accused and Telanagna first got momentum way back on February 1, 2014 when the alleged SIMI men were spotted in CCTV cameras of looted SBI branch in Karimnagar district. Soon after, a mini Muthoot group office was looted of gold in Medak district. Later, during investigation of Bangalore-Guwahati train blast at Central Chennai station, the name of Warangal district came as a possible hideout of the perpetrators.
Right wing Telugu media has already started raising questions as to how the state government allowed ‘terrorists’ to move freely in the state for almost a year.
“The NIA with political centric investigation will start picking up small lapses to prove state government as incompetent,” the source said, explaining state government’s fear. It was the reason he said that the Government patiently waited, fingers crossed, and let MP police identify the deceased assailants.
The state police is not taking any chances – lest NIA indeed decides to step in; it has already formed teams of OCTOPUS and Greyhounds to “flush out” any associates of the deceased duo on the apprehension of anyone taking shelter in the state. A special police team is also formed to catch any local who might have provided any logistical support to slain assailants, government sources said.
Besides MP police, a team of Maharashtra ATS is also likely to visit the state soon. The NIA team is expected to arrive soon to take over the investigation, with this political fire crackers are about to explode soon.
Related:
Assailants killed in encounter were fugitive SIMI men: Telanagana DGP