Delhi Police welcomes court verdict on Batla House encounter

New Delhi: Delhi Police today welcomed a local court verdict, convicting a suspected Indian Mujahideen terrorist for murdering Inspector M C Sharma in the 2008 Batla House encounter and said the force was proud of the “unique” operation. Delhi Police Commissioner Neeraj Kumar said a controversy took place around the encounter following a “propaganda” and “disinformation campaign”. “It was very unique operation, unprecedented. It (the operation) is a matter of great pride for Delhi police…They (the policemen) managed to neutralise terrorists and in the bargain, one of them lost his life. Indeed, it was a unique experience,” Kumar said. [caption id=“attachment_987015” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File photo of Batla House encounter. PTI[/caption] He said the National Human Rights Commission had conducted an inquiry into the operation which had also confirmed it to be a genuine operation. “The NHRC conducted the inquiry for the Delhi high court, so in a manner of speaking, it was a judicial inquiry. So, because the NHRC gave reports confirming that it was a genuine encounter and does not in the way take away its authenticity, it was accepted by the apex court as well,” Kumar said. He said the force had learnt lessons from the encounter. “We learn lessons from every encounter, every experience and operation…Indeed, we learnt lessons,” he said. A Delhi court today convicted suspected Indian Mujahideen terrorist Shahzad Ahmad for murdering police inspector M C Sharma in the 2008 Batla House encounter, an incident which Congress leader Digvijaya Singh had dubbed as “fake”, triggering a major controversy. The encounter had taken place at flat no L-18, Batla House in Jamia Nagar locality here on September 19, 2008, six days after serial bomb blasts rocked Delhi, killing 26 persons and injuring 133 others. Of the five flat occupants, Atif Ameen and Mohd Sajid were killed during the encounter. Highly-decorated Delhi Police Inspector Sharma succumbed to bullet injuries sustained during the gun battle, while head constable Balwant was injured. Soon after the incident, Digvijaya Singh had created a big furore going public with a demand for a judicial probe into the encounter calling it fake. The government, however, rejected his demand and stuck to its position that the encounter was genuine. Asked about the preparedness of police to deal with security challenges, Kumar said the force is on the highest level of readiness because of the Independence day next month. “We are on the highest level of alert,” he said. PTI