In the highly debated Batla Encounter case, the Delhi Court slammed death sentence penalty to IM operative Ariz Khan on Monday. Ariz Khan was convicted for the murder of Mohan Chand Sharma, police inspector who played an active part in the Batla House Encounter case in 2008. The encounter ensued between the Special Cell of the Delhi Police and the Indian Mujahideen operatives in Delhi’s Jamia Nagar Batla House a few days after a serial blast shook Indian capital. In the bomb blast, 26 innocent lives were lost and 133 people remained injured.

The case in itself is a monumental one for the political storm it stirred. Political activists from both the left and right spectrums questioned and appraised the actions of the Special Cell officers. The opinions of activists divided the public opinion and still continue to be a source of heated debates. While BJP and Congress both grappled with each other with BJP accusing Congress of not taking terrorist up to task and the saffron party being accused of using its power in an inappropriate way. The BJP have in past gone as far as seeking apology from the opposition party for creating doubts in the public’s mind about the authenticity of the encounter.

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How it all started: The bomb blast and the Batla House encounter

On September 13, 2008, 5 bombs shook the national capital. These blasts took place at Karol Bagh, Greater Kailash and the India Gate. Before the blasts occurred, television news channels had received a 13-page email titled “Eye for an Eye: The Dust Will Never Settle Down.”

The hard worded email said, “Never assume that we have forgotten the demolition of Babri Masjid and by Allah, we can never forget it! It is that grave mistake of yours which will make you taste the humiliation for generations to come. Babri Masjid was and will remain to be our glorious self-esteem and Inshallah, we will prove it to you a hornet’s nest in which you have immersed your bare hand, unaware of the pain to come.” The Indian Mujahideen had taken responsibility for the email and the blasts that followed.

After the blast, Inspector Sharma set up a team to carry investigation and put the perpetrators at justice. On September 19, the police received information about the suspects of the bomb blast at a fat in Batla House. The police had carried out a raid at the Batla House flat and traced the suspect’s mobile number at the location, confirming their suspicion.

When the police tried entering the flat, a gunfight between the operatives and the policemen ensued which led to Inspector Sharma and Head Constable Balwant Singh getting injured. Meanwhile, Indian Mujahideen operatives Atif Ameen and Mohd Sajid got injured and were rushed to the AIIMS hospital. Later both the operatives succumbed to their injuries and were declared dead. However, two other IM operatives Shahzad Ahmad and Ariz Khan escaped from the site while Mohd Saif laid his arms and surrendered.

After the encounter, several protest rallies were organized against the act by the Jamia Millia Islamia University’s teachers and students. Even the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) conducted an inquiry in the case and the probe was conclusive enough for the NHRC to give the Delhi Police a clean chit.

The trial and arrest

The Delhi Police filed charge sheet against the two dead operatives Atif Ameen and Mohd Sajid along with the two operatives who fled- Ariz Khan and Shahzad Ahmad. Shahzad Ahmad was later arrested by the Lucknow ATS. He was arrested in Azamgarh from his grandfather’s house.

In 2013, he was convicted by the Saket Court. Meanwhile Ariz continued being on the run for almost a decade and was arrested by the Delhi Police Special Cell in 2018. The Delhi Police acted on information by an ‘Abdul Subhan Quereshi’, the alleged perpetrator of the 2008 Ahmedabad blasts and made an arrest. Ariz Khan had a reward of Rs. 10 Lakhs on his head by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and even the Delhi Police had announced a reward sum of Rs. 5 lakhs for any information about Khan.

As per the National Investigation Agency’s charge sheet, Ariz was recruited, motivated and radicalized by the Indian Mujahideen operative Atif Ameen. In a September 2014 charge sheet, Ariz confessed participating in several acts in war against India.

In 2007, he planted bombs at Lucknow. The next year, he had participated in the Jaipur serial blasts along with other IM operatives which included Mirza Shahdab, Chhota Sajid, Bada Sajid and more.

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