Batla House encounter: Delhi court convicts Ariz Khan for killing inspector Mohan Chand Sharma
Ariz had allegedly fled from the encounter site and was arrested from Nepal in February 2018.
FollowNew Delhi: A Delhi court on Monday held Indian Mujahideen terrorist Ariz Khan guilty of killing inspector Mohan Chand Sharma, along with his accomplices, in the Batla House encounter which took place in the national capital in September 2008.
His sentencing has been scheduled for next Monday. The encounter between the Delhi police and the accused holed up in the Okhla area of the national capital, along with several other accomplices, led to the death of one police officer and injuries to two others.
According the Live Law, Additional Sessions Judge Sandeep Yadav, while pronouncing the judgment, said, “The evidence adduced on record by the prosecution leaves no doubt that the prosecution has proved the case and that the accused is liable to be convicted. It has been proved that the accused Ariz Khan managed to escape during shootout and failed to appear before court despite proclamation. Accordingly, the accused is held guilty and convicted under Sections 186, 333, 353, 302, 307, 174A, 34 of Indian Penal Cone and 27 of the Arms Act.”
On September 19 in 2008, the Special Cell of Delhi Police carried out an encounter in Jamia Nagar's Batla House, in which two suspected Indian Mujahideen terrorists died. The suspected IM operatives were said to have been involved in the serial bomb blasts at various courts of Delhi, Jaipur, Ahmedabad, and Uttar Pradesh, that took place six days before the encounter. At least 30 people were killed and over 100 injured in the blast.
In 2013, one Shahzad Ahmed, who, too, had escaped the Batla House shootout with Khan, was convicted and sentenced in the same case. Three of their accomplices, Atif Amin, Mohammed Saif, and Mohammed Sajid, were killed in the incident. Delhi police Inspector Mohan Chand Sharma, too, lost his life while two other officers were injured.
Khan, a native of Azamgarh in Uttar Pradesh, was arrested by the Delhi police's Special Cell in February 2018.
He was said to be the mastermind of the multiple bombings that rocked cities like Jaipur and Ahmedabad, apart from the national capital itself, at various times in 2008.
