A significant incident of neglect has come to the fore in Bhopal Central Jail where a prisoner named Rajesh attacked an ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) terrorist on 5th November at around 7:30 am. He struck the latter’s head with the handcuffs fastened to his hands and injured him. The jail administration took the terrorist to Hamidia Hospital for treatment without proper security. A complaint has been lodged against the prisoner in Gandhinagar Police Station. The terrorist has been identified as Mohammad Shahid.
Jail superintendent Rakesh Bhangre stated that the two have been kept in the psychiatric ward of the hospital inside the prison as they are mentally unstable. He said that Rajesh, who is serving a sentence in a murder case, has a history of violence inside the prison. He previously attacked two inmates who died. His hands and feet are always handcuffed and they are removed while he takes a shower in the morning. He was handcuffed when he was brought to the hospital inside the jail and Shahid was placed next to him there.
The duo reportedly argued over a matter that escalated into a fight after which Rajesh attacked Shahid with the handcuffs and hit him multiple times on the head. According to other reports, he assaulted Shahid during his shower time. Shahid suffered wounds and was brought to the hospital for medical care. His security was entrusted to only four soldiers including a rifleman for a few hours. Later, more personnel reached the hospital and the security cover around him was increased. Shahid did not sustain any serious head injury and his CT scan also came out normal. Gandhi Nagar TI Suresh Kumar Farkale also confirmed the same.
Rajesh Bhangre mentioned that written information to transport him to the hospital was delivered to RI but the force did not arrive till 9 am. He further conveyed that Shahid was bleeding profusely from his head and hence was sent to the hospital. On the other hand, DCP Riyaz Iqbal claimed that they got the information at approximately 11 am and additional assistance was provided immediately. “Two to three prisoners have already escaped due to the negligence of the jail administration, however, they were caught later. We are writing a letter to the Jail DG in this entire occurrence,” he said.
Who is Mohammad Shahid
Shahid was arrested by the NIA and ATS from Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh in May of 2023. He and two others, Syed Mamoor Ali and Mohammad Adil Khan, were nabbed for being part of an ISIS module in the state. The agencies had recovered weapons, ammunition, incriminating documents and electronic gadgets during their search. The plot was connected to ISIS’s operations to radicalise naive Muslim youth via social media and on-the-ground “Dawah” (invitation to embrace Islam) initiatives.
The three were the subject of a case filed under multiple sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and the Indian Penal Code. Kasif Khan, another suspect, was later apprehended by the NIA in August of the same year. NIA then filed a chargesheet against all of them. According to the inquiry, they were aggressively targeting democratic institutions and people, including well-known politicians, since they were motivated by the ideology of the terrorist group.
“The module had been conducting meetings in local religious places and houses, and hatching plans to spread terror in the country by unleashing violent attacks at the instance of the ISIS leadership. They had also been engaged in collecting funds, disseminating ISIS propaganda material, motivating and recruiting youth, and procuring deadly weapons,” the NIA unveiled. The module was a component of the worldwide ISIS network that used sleeper cells and localized units spread throughout several states to destabilize India.
