A Delhi court on Monday sentenced Indian Mujahideen militant Ariz Khan to death in the September 2008 Batla House encounter case, Live Law reported.
Additional Sessions Judge Sandeep Yadav awarded the death penalty to Khan after observing that this was a “rarest of the rare case”. The court also imposed a fine of Rs 11 lakh on him, out of which Rs 10 lakh will be given to the family of Inspector Mohan Chand Sharma, who was also killed in the encounter. Sharma succumbed to injuries sustained during the gunfight.
On March 8, Additional Sessions Judge Sandeep Yadav convicted Khan of the murder of Sharma. He was also convicted under charges related to attempt to murder, obstructing public servant on duty, causing grievous hurt and non-appearance despite being declared as a proclaimed offender.
After the hearing on the quantum of sentence commenced on Monday, Senior Public Prosecutor AT Ansari, representing the Delhi Police, sought the death penalty for Khan, ANI reported. Ansari said that the “collective conscience of society” was shocked due to the brutal manner in which Sharma was killed, Live Law reported. Khan’s counsel, on the other hand, argued for a lesser sentence on the grounds of parity and his young age.
Besides Sharma, two Indian Mujahideen militants, Atif Ameen and Mohammed Sajid were killed during the encounter in Batla House on September 19, 2008. Khan was declared a proclaimed offender after he managed to escape the site, according to Live Law.
The police said that he had acquired a Nepali citizenship card and passport under the fake identity of one “Mohammad Salim”. He was arrested by Delhi Police Special Cell from the Indo-Nepal border in 2018. The National Investigation Agency had announced a reward of Rs 10 lakh and the Delhi Police had offered Rs 5 lakh for information about him.
In 2013, a trial court had convicted another accused, Indian Mujahideen operative Shahzad Ahmad, to life imprisonment for murdering constables Balwant Singh and Rajbir Singh, during the encounter. He was also accused of being involved in the death of Sharma. The court found Ahmed guilty of murder, attempt to murder, obstructing and assaulting public servants and grievously injuring the police ocers to deter them from performing their duty.
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