A Delhi court on Monday convicted Ariz Khan for the murder of Delhi Police Inspector Mohan Chand Sharma and other offences in connection with the 2008 Batla House encounter. Khan is allegedly associated with the terror outfit Indian Mujahideen. The court will pronounce the quantum of sentence on March 15.
Additional Sessions Judge Sandeep Yadav said the evidence produced by the prosecution duly proved the case beyond reasonable doubt.
The judge said it is “duly proved that Ariz Khan and his associates caused murder of police official and fired gunshot on the police official.”
The judge further said Khan managed to flee and did not appear before court despite being declared a proclaimed offender. “The evidence adduced on record, including ocular, documentary and scientific, prosecution has proved beyond reasonable doubt that Khan along with accomplices with common intention obstructed inspector Sharma in discharge of public function,” the court said.
“Khan, along with his accomplices, also fired gunshots at head constables Balwant and Balvir Singh,” the court further said. The court also asked the Investigating Officer (IO) to ascertain the financial position of the convict to decide on the amount of compensation to be given to the victim’s family.
Inspector Sharma of the Special Cell of Delhi was martyred during the 2008 Batla House encounter in Jamia Nagar in south Delhi.
In 2013, Shahzad Ahmed and Khan had escaped the Batla House shootout while two of their accomplices, Atif Amin and Mohammed Sajid, were killed during the shootout. A third, Mohammed Saif, was arrested.
Delhi Police Inspector Mohan Chand Sharma lost his life while two other officers were injured.
Later, Shahzad Ahmed was also arrested and a trial court in July 2013 had sentenced Indian Mujahideen terrorist Ahmed to life imprisonment in connection with the case. His appeal against the trial court’s verdict has been pending in the High Court.
Khan, a native of Azamgarh, was arrested by the Delhi Police’s Special Cell in February 2018.
Tuesday, 09 March 2021 | Staff Reporter | New Delhi
