File photo of five terror suspects who escaped from a jail in Madhya Pradesh in October 2013.
Two suspected members of the banned Students Islamic Movement of India or SIMI, were killed in an encounter today in Telangana's Nalgonda district, a top police source told NDTV. A constable was killed and two other police personnel were also injured in the gunfight.
The two men - identified as Aslam and Zakir Hussain - were trying to escape the sealed state borders after killing a constable and a home guard shortly after mid-night on Wednesday at Suryapet town. The police team was conducting a routine check of vehicles, when the two reportedly opened fire.
The two men killed in today's encounter are believed to be part of group of five alleged SIMI operatives who escaped from a jail in Khandwa, Madhya Pradesh in October 2013.
Police allege that the two are suspected to have played a part in several crimes including a bank robbery in Karimnagar in February 2014, Chennai railway station blast of May 2014 and Bijnour blast in Uttar Pradesh.
Special teams were formed to track the attackers, who reportedly fled the scene after the killing the two personnel who were checking the vehicles, say police.
Shortly after the incident, the police put the whole district on a high alert, while conducting combing operations at multiple locations.
Early today morning, police got reports of the two men being spotted at a nearby mosque, where they snatched a bike from a local resident in a bid to escape from the state.
Two police vehicles, stationed nearby, accosted the escaping men who fired at the police team. The two suspected SIMI operatives were shot dead, in a gunfight, soon after.
However, Telangana Home Minister N. Narasimha Reddy said, "They had no terror links. There is no question of this. This was an inter-state gang of dacoits."