Bhopal encounter: SIMI members buried in MP; relatives demands probe

Bodies of seven of the eight SIMI activists, who were killed in an alleged police encounter following a daring prison break here, were laid to rest in different parts of Madhya Pradesh amid tight security.

Bodies of five deceased - Amjad Khan, Zakir Hussain, Mohammad Salik, Sheikh Mehboob and Aqueel Khilji - were buried in their home district - Khandwa.

The five bodies were kept at Khilji's residence at Gulmohar locality before being laid to rest at Bada Cemetery close to Abana river around 11 PM.

Over 2,000 people took part in the funeral procession. At some places, to avoid any stampede-like situation, police had to drive people away, who had come to take a glimpse of the deceased.

Around 700 police personnel, some of them in plain clothes, kept a watch on the funeral procession, sources said.

Meanwhile, the body of Sheikh Mujeeb was taken to Ahmedabad by his family members, his lawyer Parvez Alam said.

The bodies were handed over to the family members after the post-mortem in Bhopal. While taking custody of the bodies, the relatives questioned the genuineness of the police encounter.

The kin of Abdul Majid argued with police officials outside the morgue of Hamidia Hospital in Bhopal and alleged foul play in the way he was killed. Zakir Hussain's mother Salma Bi and brother Azaz said the "conspiracy" needs to be probed thoroughly.

"Zakir had told me that he did not feel safe and feared for his life," Salma Bi said adding, "My son has attained martyrdom."

The eight SIMI activists were killed in the alleged police encounter on the outskirts of Bhopal hours after they escaped from the high-security Central jail, killing a security guard there yesterday.

Meanwhile, one slain SIMI operative, Mohammad Khalid, who hailed from Maharashtra, was laid to rest in Bhopal.

"Khalid was from Solapur, but his parents are no more and his brother, who was also a SIMI operative, is lodged in Bhopal Central Jail. Since nobody came to claim his body, he was laid to rest here by police," a police officer said.

Another deceased, Abdul Majid, was buried at his hometown at Mahidpur in Ujjain district.