BJP helped uproot SIMI terror activities in Madhya Pradesh: Amit Shah

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday said the BJP government in Madhya Pradesh has uprooted "terror activities" of the banned outfit Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) that were centred in the Malwa region of the state. Shah said policemen have outnumbered soldiers in laying down their lives in the line of duty.

The home minister was addressing a function at Bhopal's Ravindra Bhawan after virtually laying the foundation stone for a forensic science university, to be constructed on 27 acres of land at Barkheda Bondar near the state capital. Shah also inaugurated and laid the foundation stones for various projects related to housing and administrative buildings of the police department.

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Madhya Pradesh's Malwa region had once become a centre of terror activities from where members of the SIMI were used to be sent to other parts of the country to carry out unlawful and nefarious acts, the home minister said. These SIMI people from Malwa were involved in "terror activities" in the entire country, he said.

However, the BJP government in Madhya Pradesh has uprooted the base and activities of the SIMI, banned under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, from Malwa, Shah said. Shah said more policemen than soldiers have laid down their lives in the line of duty. More than 35,000 police personnel have been killed while maintaining internal security and peace besides fighting Naxalism and terrorism, he said.

The Union minister said some filmmakers present a wrong image of policemen on the silver screen in a bid to ensure success of their movies. Contrary to their image, police personnel have to work round the clock and even at a time when people are busy celebrating festivals, Shah said. Youths who want to make a career in forensic science will benefit from the upcoming university, which has already started functioning from another building, he said.