News Analysis India

Tag: Ariz Khan

  • Delhi court hands death sentence to Batla House encounter convict Ariz Khan

    Express News Service
    NEW DELHI: Ariz Khan, convicted in the killing of a police officer in the 2008 Batla House encounter in Delhi, was sentenced to death on Monday by a Delhi court, which said it is the most appropriate punishment for ‘dreaded terrorists’ like him.

    “Nature of offence and manner of committing the crime caused extreme indignation to the society in this case,” Additional Sessions Judge Sandeev Yadav said, declaring that there was no doubt that Ariz and his accomplices fired at police officials “without any provocation”.

    The encounter between the Delhi Police and a bunch of Indian Mujahideen members holed up in a flat in South Delhi had led to the death of Inspector Mohan Chand Sharma while two others sustained injuries.

    The court also imposed a total fine of Rs 11 lakh on Ariz, of which Rs 10 lakh was ordered to be given to the family of Sharma, who was posthumously awarded the Ashok Chakra and many gallantry awards.

    Judge Yadav also sought to put an end to the allegations of the September 2008 police operation being a fake encounter.

    He held that police officials had no intention to kill the occupants of the flat, stating that some members of the raiding team were not even carrying arms.

    “It is obvious that convict Ariz Khan along with his accomplices fired at police officials without being challenged, instinctively…” the judge said, in the 22-page verdict.

    Ariz’s lawyer M S Khan had opposed capital punishment saying the incident was not premeditated. 

    “Deadly weapons like AK-47 and two pistols were retrieved from the flat where the shootout took place…. Considering the nature of devastation these weapons can cause, it will be safe to conclude that there was were kept in the flat with a view to indulge in terrorist and anti-social activities,” the court ruled. 

    The case will now go to the Delhi High Court for confirmation of the capital punishment. 

    Fits rarest of rare yardstick

    The court put the case in the “rarest of rare” category while agreeing with Additional Prosecutor A T Ansari that this was not just any killing but a murder of a law enforcement officer who was a defender of justice.

  • Batla House encounter: Delhi court awards death penalty to convict Ariz Khan

    By Online Desk
    A Delhi court has awards the death penalty to Ariz Khan for the murder of inspector Mohan Chand Sharma in the 2008 Batla House encounter case.

    Police sought the death penalty for Khan, allegedly associated with the terror outfit Indian Mujahideen, saying it was not just any killing but a murder of a law enforcement officer who was a defender of justice.

    Additional Sessions Judge Sandeep Yadav also imposed a total fine of Rs 11 lakh against Ariz in the case. The court said Rs 10 lakh should be immediately released to the family members of Sharma.

    Advocate M S Khan, appearing for Ariz, opposed the death penalty and said the incident was not premeditated.

    The court had said on March 8 that it was “duly proved that Ariz Khan and his associates caused murder of police official and fired gunshot on the police official”.

    Inspector Sharma of the special cell was killed during the 2008 Batla House encounter in Jamia Nagar in south Delhi.

    The trial court had sentenced Indian Mujahideen terrorist Shahzad Ahmed in July 2013 to life imprisonment in connection with the case.

    (With PTI inputs)

  • Batla House encounter: Delhi court reserves order on Ariz Khan’s sentence

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: A Delhi court reserved its order on Monday on the quantum of sentence for Ariz Khan, convicted for the murder of police inspector Mohan Chand Sharma and other offences in connection with the 2008 Batla House encounter.

    Police sought death penalty for Khan, allegedly associated with the terror outfit Indian Mujahideen, saying it was not just any killing but a murder of a law enforcement officer who was a defender of justice.

    Additional Sessions Judge Sandeep Yadav reserved the order for 4 pm.

    Additional Public Prosecutor A T Ansari, appearing for the police, said the case attracts exemplary punishment, which is capital punishment.

    Khan’s counsel opposed the death penalty. The court had said on March 8 that it was “duly proved that Ariz Khan and his associates caused murder of police official and fired gunshot on the police official”.

    Inspector Sharma of the police’s special cell was killed during the 2008 Batla House encounter in Jamia Nagar in south Delhi.

    A trial court had sentenced Indian Mujahideen terrorist Shahzad Ahmed in July 2013 to life imprisonment in connection with the case.

    His appeal against the verdict has been pending in the high court. Ariz Khan had fled from the spot and was declared proclaimed offender. He was arrested on February 14, 2018, and faced the trial.