Madhya Pradesh government has issued the suspension order of Bhopal Deputy Inspector General (Jail) MP Patel in connection with the alleged encounter of eight Students Islamic Movement of India undertrials, who were killed after they escaped from Bhopal Central Jail. Patel is also the son-in-law of local Bharatiya Janata Party legislator Madho Singh Dawar. The SIMI men were killed on October 31.

Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan had earlier said that Patel and three junior officials – a superintendent, a deputy superintendent and an assistant superintendent of police – would be suspended in connection with the incident. He had also said that Additional Director General (Jail) Sushovan Banerjee would be transferred. While Banerjee and the other officials faced the government action soon after the incident, action against Patel came more than a week after the incident.

A Jail Department official told The Indian Express that Patel was attending meetings regularly, and that he had said that his suspension order was revoked. The senior officer also confirmed that he was holding meetings, but said that he had not entered the jail premises since the incident.

The order was issued after the Congress on Tuesday questioned the delay in taking action against Patel, Hindustan Times reported. Former chief of the state unit Kantilal Bhuria said the the government was reluctant about suspending the police officer because of his connections with the ruling party. State Congress spokesperson KK Mishra said the government must explain why it took so long to issue Patel's suspension order when the junior officers and his senior were punished soon after the incident.

The state government had announced a judicial investigation by SK Pandey after purported audio and video clips and contradictory versions by security officials raised doubts about the encounter.

Preliminary investigations have pointed to the role of insiders in the incident. Two jail staffers and two prison inmates have been questioned for their suspected involvement. A high-ranking official of the jail is suspected to have helped the eight undertrials escape from the prison. There have also been reports that the undertrials had made duplicate keys to unlock their cells and they scaled the jail walls by using bed sheets.

The police have maintained that the eight undertrials had escaped from the prison after murdering a security guard. They were intercepted on the outskirts of the city, and were eventually shot dead by the police. The families of the men have demanded a Central Bureau of Investigation probe in the matter.