A sarpanch of a village on the outskirts of Bhopal had saved the face of Shivraj Singh Chouhan government by alerting the police on the presence of eight suspected Simi activists in his area, leading to their killing in a “controversial” encounter. Mohan Singh Meena, sarpanch of Khejda Dev panchayat, emerged a hero as events leading to neutralisation of the eight in an “unusual” swift operation by the MP police unfolded. “I spotted a stranger at the nearby waterbody. I mistook him as a sleuth looking for the fugitives. But, the stranger threatened me when I offered to help him. Later, some people informed me that they have spotted seven other strangers near the waterbody. I then alerted the police.