SIMI activists encounter: SC issues notice to Centre, Madhya Pradesh Govt

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday issued a notice to the Centre and Madhya Pradesh Government over the 2016 encounter of SIMI activists in Bhopal.

The apex court also asked that why was the case not handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) at the time.

The police alleged that the accused were escaping from jail which led to an encounter in which the activists were killed.

However, parents of the slain SIMI activists alleged that they were killed by the police and branded it as a "cold-blooded murder".

The Supreme Court has granted four weeks time to reply. Eight Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) activists in October, 2016 were killed in an encounter by the police on the outskirts of Bhopal.

The encounter took place hours after they escaped from the high-security Bhopal Central Jail and killed a security guard.