Jailbreak encounter eyewitnesses

BHOPAL: It was social media that helped track down the SIMI fugitives within hours of escape. Realizing that the fugitives would head out into hinterland, police WhatsApped their mugshots to villagers in nearby areas. After that, it was only a matter of time because the runaways would stick out in the fields.
"Police officers came to our homes and described to us the men people who had escaped.They also shared pictures of the accused through WhatsApp," said Lalit Meena, one of the first to spot them. He is a resident of Acharpura village where the eight met their end.
"I was going to my fields when I saw some people near the nullah that flows down from the hilltop. We call it Halali river. I had seen their photos on social media and suspected it was them. We informed police and started chasing them. When we reached Khejradeo village that they started climbing the hillock and shouted, 'catch us, now'. Then, police arrived," Meena said.
Some villagers accompanied the police to the encounter site. One of them, Sagar Meena of Khejradeo, said, "I and a friend guided ATS to the hilltop from the sides. When we reached the top, we saw a police team approaching them from the rear as well. The SIMI guys started attacking. The gunfight was terrifying for us. We were caught right in the middle. The terrorists spread out but they were all killed".
IGP Bhopal Yogesh Chaudhary said the fugitives fired the first shots. "We started firing in retaliation," Chaudhary said, adding that four pistols, "a few bullets" and three sharp-edged weapons were found on them. Three policemen suffered stab injuries, he said.
"The exchange of fire started at 10am and lasted around an hour. The entire operation was carried out by Bhopal Police, ATS and Counter-Terror Group. Two cases have been registered - one for the prison escape and other about the firing at cops," he said.
The IGP said the SIMI prisoners had "made keys out of toothbrush, plastic and wood". "One of the aspects of investigation is whether they got any outside help after escaping," Chaudhary said. Coincidently, Chowdhary, was Khandwa SP during the 2013 SIMI breakout. Three of them were killed on Monday.