Shivraj’s ‘dreaded terrorists’ turn into ‘undertrial prisoners’ in MP govt order

Sravani Sarkar

NewsBits.in

Bhopal: Just a week ago, Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan looked extremely angry when he took upon the opposition parties for questioning the ‘encounter’ of ‘dreaded terrorists’ of SIMI ‘who could have run amok and perpetrated many terror activities, if let off.’

The chief minister did not stop at venting out his anger before media cameras. He took his case to the durbar of ‘janta janardan’ and made the people gathered at MP foundation day function (November 1) to raise their hands to endorse the killing of the ‘dreaded terrorists’.

But on Monday, when the state government came out with a formal order about institution of a judicial probe into the jailbreak and encounter of SIMI fugitives on October 31, the killed fugitives were described as ‘vicharadhin bandi’ (undertrial prisoners) by the general administration department (GAD) of the MP government.

Legal experts point out that since none of the eight SIMI operatives incarcerated in Bhopal Central Jail had been convicted and they were merely ‘undertrial prisoners’ legally and officially.

But any attempts to point this fact out by different activists and a small section of media fell flat over the last week as the ruling political dispensation in Madhya Pradesh underlined the word ‘terrorist’ while describing the SIMI fugitives.

A large section of media – both print and electronic – also continued to use the term terrorist in all their headlines and stories.

Shivraj’s political compulsion or rhetoric to counter Sangh's aggression?

Political watchers say that Shivraj Singh Chouhan, the chief minister of MP for three terms, probably took the exceptionally hard stand on the issue of SIMI operatives because of prevailing political circumstances. 

Shivraj has always been looked upon as a chief minister who tried to balance out the social equations in the state and therefore managed to garner a large chunk of minority vote too.

But in the recent past, in the volatile situation following certain developments at national level, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) seemed to be baying for the blood of Shivraj Singh Chouhan.

In an unprecedented move, the RSS held a press conference demanding immediate arrest of the policemen who were suspended after allegedly thrashing a RSS worker in Balaghat. 

While police officials had to be booked under heinous sections of IPC in Balaghat under Sangh pressure, even IG-SP were shunted out. This had never happened in MP and caused massive anger among policemen.

The action under Sangh pressure continued in Western MP too. Policemen on the ground were extremely unhappy and took to social media to express their anger. The situation was damaging for the government as policemen publicly said that they were demoralised. Still, Sangh was not satisfied and wanted more tough action.

Also, other right wing bodies with RSS affiliation like the Kisan Sangh and the Gau Rakshak Sangh staged demonstrations against the CM/MP government on different issues within a span of a fortnight.

In such situation, the CM could not have afforded to show any lenient view in the SIMI issue, say political watchers. Despite several loopholes evident in the police theory of jailbreak and encounter, the CM therefore kept up an aggressive stance.

The 'encounter' also gave an opportunity to the government to pat the back of 'demoralised police' and the cops' ire diminished. Having managed to balance things out, the CM issued an order of judicial probe in the incident, in a bid to silent the voices of dissent.