Batla house encounter: Slain cop's family happy with verdict

The family of Delhi police Inspector Mohan Chand Sharma who was killed in the Batla House shootout in Jamia Nagar on September 19 2008 yesterday expressed satisfaction over the verdict and said the family now awaits the final judgment The encounter In 2008 seven days after the capital was rocked by serial blasts Delhi police carried out an encounter after they believed that IM operatives were housed at Batla House PicRajeev Tyagi A Delhi court on Thursday convicted the lone accused and Indian Mujahideen IM operative Shahzad Ahmad in the controversial shootout that killed Sharma Sharmarsquos octogenarian father Naurottam Sharma said ldquoI am satisfied with the courtrsquos decision but await the final judgment I am worried that the accused can move the higher courtrdquo The slain inspectorrsquos 76yearold mother Devinder Devi also said that she was waiting for a final judgment that would bring justice to her son who lost his life in a brave attempt to apprehend terrorists involved in Delhi serial blasts of 2008u00a0ldquoI donrsquot know who killed my son But I can never forget his martyrdomrdquo Devi added Sharmarsquos wife said that she was very relieved after the courtrsquos verdict as it is a proof that the encounter in which her husband died was genuine ldquoThis issue was made political by saying that it was fake Those who tried to divert the attention in this case kept saying that it was a fake encounter After the courtrsquos verdict which has convicted Shahzad Ahmad no one will say that it was a fake encounterrdquo she said Additional Sessions Judge Rajender Kumar Shastri convicted Ahmad for killing Sharma Sharma who had won seven gallantry medals including a Presidentrsquos Medal was gunned down during the Batla House encounter seven days after serial blasts rocked the national capital It was suspected that members of the Indian Mujahideen IM were hiding in a house in the area Ahmad was said to be present in a flat in Jamia Nagar when the shootout took place Glad police were able to prove their case Chidambaram Finance Minister P Chidambaram yesterday expressed joy that police were ldquoable to prove their caserdquo but also defended Congress leaders who questioned the incidentrsquos veracity saying ldquothey meant wellrdquo rdquoI am glad that the police have been able to prove their case Earlier the NHRC and the high court also held that there was no reason to doubt the genuineness of the encounterrdquo he said When asked about comments made by his party colleagues who claimed the shootout was fake he added ldquoThey leaders meant well They were reflecting the views of the families in the areardquo Civil society group to help convict A civil society group comprising Jamia Millia Islamia teachers expressed shock over the conviction of Shahzad Ahmad in the Batla House shootout case and vowed to seek justice for him in a higher court ldquoIt was a huge disappointment for us We will definitely approach the higher court for justicerdquo said Manisha Sethi president of Jamia Teachers Solidarity Association JTSA Sethi said they fought for five years to reveal the real face of Delhi Police who staged the shootout and arrested the innocent peopleu00a0