Suspected IM operative convicted in Batla House case

Delhi court finds Shahzad Ahmad guilty of murdering police officer during encounter; to pronounce verdict on Monday

Suspected Indian Mujahideen operative Shahzad Ahmad was on Thursday convicted in the 2008 Batla House encounter case by a Delhi court, for murdering a police inspector and assaulting other officers.

The court will pronounce its order on the sentence on Monday.

"He (Ahmad) is held guilty of attempting to cause the death of Head Constables Balwant Singh and Rajbir Singh and causing the death of Inspector M C Sharma by firing on them," Additional Sessions Judge Rajender Kumar Shastri said. "He is also found guilty of assaulting police officers and obstructing them from doing their duty," the judge said.

"Come for order on sentence on Monday (July 29)," the judge said after convicting Ahmad.

The court found Ahmad guilty of murder, attempt to murder, obstructing and assaulting public servants and grievously injuring police officers to deter them from performing their duty.

The court, however, acquitted him of an offence under section 174A of the Indian Penal Code (failure to appear in specified time and place as required by a proclamation by court).

The encounter had taken place at flat number L-18, Batla House, in the Jamia Nagar locality in Delhi on September 19, 2008, six days after serial bomb blasts rocked the city, killing 26 persons and injuring 133.

The police had reached Batla House on a tip that some suspected militants involved in the blasts were in the building. Of the five occupants, Atif Ameen and Mohd Sajid were killed during the encounter.

Highly-decorated Delhi Police Inspector Mohan Chand Sharma succumbed to bullet injuries sustained during the gun battle, while head constable Balwant was injured.

Apart from these two, one Ariz Khan, alias Junaid, had been declared a proclaimed offender. Another, Saif, was not made an accused in this case as, according to the prosecution, he had surrendered peacefully and did not play any part in the violence. The police team had recovered two .30 bore pistols and one AK series rifle, with two loaded magazines containing 30 live cartridges, from the spot.

Ahmad was arrested on January 1, 2010 from Azamgarh in Uttar Pradesh. The court had on July 20 reserved the judgement after conclusion of final arguments by the police and the defence.

During the trial, Ahmad had called as defence witnesses Saif and Zeeshan, both lodged in Sabarmati jail in Ahmedabad in connection with the serial blasts of July 26, 2008 there, claiming he was not at the spot.

The prosecution examined 70 witnesses, including six who were part of the raiding team of the Delhi Police Special Cell.

The police had said it has sufficient circumstantial evidence and phone records to prove Ahmad was present in the Jamia Nagar flat and was among those who had fired at the police team, leading to the death of Sharma.

It had said that Ahmad, along with Junaid, had jumped off the balcony and fled after firing at the police team during the encounter. The counsel for Shahzad, however, had claimed he was not present in the flat in which the shootout took place. The defence had claimed that according to ballistic reports, the bullets found in the slain police officer's body matched the gun seized from the spot and not the weapon allegedly retrieved from Ahmad's possession when he was arrested.

The Bharatiya Janata Party has slammed Congress leaders for questioning the veracity of the Batla House encounter and said the court verdict would go a long way in boosting the morale of security personnel fighting terrorism.

"It was a bizarre situation. While the government honoured late inspector M C Sharma for bravery, senior Congress leaders and functionaries of the ruling dispensation had raised questions on the veracity of the encounter," BJP Deputy Leader in the Rajya Sabha Ravi Shankar Prasad said in New Delhi.