That caption would possibly be the most restrained expression of the disturbing and contradictory impressions triggered by the jailbreak, and subsequent killing, of alleged SIMI activists from the central jail in Bhopal. Propriety would demand awaiting the findings of a probe into the matter but even a superficial assessment of events points, at best, to shameful ineptitude of the jail authorities; and what took place thereafter lends itself to suspicions even more sinister. Without getting bogged down in the political controversies the killings have generated it would be relevant to query the probe being limited to the National Investigation Agency without any judicial supervision or monitoring. The NIA, still “cutting its teeth”, has yet to acquire the status and credibility required of an agency that is both professional and politically independent. The “sins” of the CBI have proved contagious, and a judicial probe is too time-consuming to have any direct impact Rs so having the NIA function under the direction of a superior court might be one way out. It is, admittedly, both a national tragedy and a huge disgrace that there is no probe agency in the country that has attained, and sustained, the credentials that command the respect and confidence of society at large.
A host of tricky queries need to be answered: how come only the SIMI activists escaped from captivity; were they provided assistance within the jail, and then outside too; is it not curious that they did not split up to avoid detection; if they were provided clothing and footwear how is it that no vehicle was arranged for them to elude those who were on their trail? The video-recordings of the “encounter” raise another set of disturbing issues Rs do the police record encounters as a matter of standard procedure, were the “terrorists” provided arms by their supporters, and what efforts were made to re-capture some of them alive and not gun down all eight of them? Will the NIA have the mandate and competence to conduct such a thorough probe? For that agency, this inquiry could be a “make or break affair”. And there would be a lurking suspicion that sectarian factors could impede, or influence, the investigation, It is most disturbing that political and communal factors have come into play almost immediately, and sections of the BJP have tried exploiting prevailing emotions to link SIMI with Pakistan-based terror outfits, talk of Uri and Bhopal in the same breath, and regurgitate that “anti-national” charge against anyone questioning the role of the Madhya Pradesh police in the current controversy. Similarly, talk of “extra-judicial killings” is also to be condemned until evidence of such motivation is established. The truth often gets snuffed-out in such cross-fire.
(Editorial)
