Bhopal jail-break: Judicial commission gets another six months

Bhopal: Madhya Pradesh Government today extended by six months the tenure of the judicial commission probing the escape by eight SIMI activists from Bhopal Central Jail last year and their deaths in alleged police encounter.

"The state cabinet approved a proposal to extend the tenure of single-member commission probing the jail-break by another six months," state finance minister Jayant Malaiya informed the journalists after the cabinet meeting.

Eight members of Students Islamic Movement of India facing trial escaped from the high-security Central Jail on the intervening night of October 30-31, 2016, after allegedly killing a guard. Police later claimed they were killed in an encounter the next morning, but genuineness of the encounter was questioned.

The term of one-man commission of retired MP High Court judge S K Pandey, appointed to probe the entire episode, was to end on January 6 earlier.

Meanwhile, the minister also informed that the cabinet gave the nod to renew a contract with software major TCS to operate `mponline' services.

The `mponline' portal offers 955 services from various government departments.

Malaiya also informed that a proposal to increase MBBS seats at Gwalior's Medical College to 250 from current 150 was approved. The government would also provide Rs 112 crore for upgradation of infrastructure to the college.

The cabinet also allowed opening of bids received for the `world's biggest solar power plant' at Gurh in Rewa district. The bids for the project, which would generate 750 mw of power, would be opened on February 8, the minister said.