Alleging "persecution" of Muslims, over 2,000 women and girls from the community took to streets at Mahidpur locality near here today, demanding a probe into the controversial encounter of eight SIMI activists on Monday.
Clad in veil, they raised slogans like "We want justice... We want an inquiry into the fake encounter."
The protesters included the wife and mother of SIMI activist Abdul Majid, a local resident of Mahidpur, who was among those gunned down by police in the alleged encounter on October 31.
The protesters also expressed apprehension over safety of remaining SIMI members currently lodged in the Bhopal jail.
Later, they handed over a memorandum, addressed to Mahidpur Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM), seeking a probe into the encounter and "persecution" of Muslims, to Tehsildar Sarita Lal.
"We sported burqas to ensure that the law enforcers cannot recognise us. Our menfolk can't protest because they will be picked up by police and NIA and thereafter hounded by them," a woman said.
When contacted, Superintendent of Police Manohar Verma said the situation is peaceful in the district.
The SIMI activists were killed on the Bhopal outskirts at Malikheda following their escape from the high-security jail after slitting the throat of a security guard and scaling the 32-ft wall using bedsheets in the wee hours of Monday.
While CID is probing the alleged encounter, a separate investigation is on into the jailbreak by extremists.
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