‘Hum Diwali par aa rahe hai’: SIMI men planned to free all 29 accused from jail

The attempt was however prevented by the two jail guards on duty, one of whom was killed in the struggle that followed.

Bhopal: Investigation into the prison break incident by 8 SIMI terror accused at Bhopal Central Jail has revealed that the radicals were planning to set free all the 29 SIMI members lodged in the prison.

According to a report in the Hindustan Times, the jail break was meticulously planned over months, and the eight men, who escaped from Block B of the prison, proceeded to Block A to liberate the other under trials lodged there, including the self-styled SIMI chief of Madhya Pradesh, Abu Faisal.

The attempt was however prevented by the two jail guards on duty, one of whom was killed in the struggle that followed.

The officials believe that the plan of the great escape was hatched when the inmates were treated together in the prison hospital.

The investigation team looking into the case found two notes written in Hindi and English which said “Hum Diwali par aa rahe hai (We are coming on Diwali)” among other notes in Urdu.

The team also found soap bars, which they believe must have been used as cast to duplicate the keys.

In addition, small pieces of paper that had sketches of a region resembling a hillock and a cave, with notes in Urdu, were also found from a cell. It is assumed that the undertrails planned to camp here after their escape.

The attorney representing the SIMI men, on the other hand, claims that they did not escape the prison, but were taken out by the officials and shot in cold blood.

(This story first appeared in Deccan Chronicle)