Five alleged terror operatives, including founder of local militant group Tehreek-Ghalba-e-Islam (TGI) Viqaruddin Ahmed alias Viqar, were today shot dead by police while they were trying to escape from a police van in Telangana's Warangal district.
The incident occurred at around 10.30 AM when Viqaruddin and his associates snatched weapons and tried to attack the policemen escorting them to a court in Hyderabad from Warangal Central Prison, Inspector General of Police, Warangal, V Naveen Chand said.
"All the five were involved in extremist activities and series of criminal cases. They were being taken to be produced in a court in Hyderabad. They requested the police to stop the van on the pretext of answering nature's call," said the IG, who visited the incident site.
"Viqaruddin took the cops by surprise by snatching a weapon from one of the policemen. His associates too joined him and overpowered the security personnel. In an unavoidable situation, police had to open fire at them," he said.
As many as 17 police personnel were escorting the terror operatives, who were in judicial custody, to Hyderabad court. "One reserve sub-inspector was injured in the melee," he said.
Apart from Viqar, those killed were identified as Mohammed Haneef, Syed Amjad Ali, Izhar Khan and Mohammed Zakir, DIG (Warangal Range) B Mallareddy said.
However, Viqaruddin's father Mohammed Ahmed cried foul over the entire incident.
Ahmed said that he came to know about the incident through his daughter.
"My daughter called me and informed about the incident. There is no chance for them to escape from the police. This is a plot by the police to eliminate him. We want justice. We demand from the government that whoever is involved in his murder (encounter) should be punished.
"Let the courts decide if he is guilty. Whatever court decides, even if it is death (penalty), we will accept. But not (this kind of act) by the police," Ahmed told reporters in Hyderabad.
He said he met his son in Warangal prison about ten day back and everything seemed to be normal then.
Viqar, in his mid 30s, was elusive since December 2008 after attacking policemen here in which two security personnel were killed and as many injured. He was arrested along with five of his associates from different parts of Hyderabad city on July 14, 2010.
