A sense of anger and tension swept Khalispur village of Uttar Pradesh’s Azamgarh district, about 275 kilometers from here, the native village of the Batla House encounter case accused Shahzad Ahmed. Ahmed was convicted by a Delhi court for killing Delhi police inspector Mohan Chand Sharma.
“We respect the court but are shocked and surprised by the court verdict and will challenge it in the higher court,” said Dr Javed Ahmed, who heads the organisation that provided legal support to the accused of the Batla House encounter case.
Shahzad’s family was in deep shock after the court verdict. “The government as part of a well-planned conspiracy did not conduct a judicial inquiry into the encounter,” said Shahzad’s brother Mohammed Ahmed.
The pradhan (panchayat chief) of Khalispur village Saulat alias Laddan also said that the people of the village considered Shahzad ‘innocent’ and were shocked by the judgment. Saulat also said that a judicial probe into the encounter would have unearthed the truth.
Tension was palpable in Khalispur as well as Sanjarpur villages after the verdict.
Two youths from the district Atif and Sajid had been shot dead in the encounter that took place in Batla House in south Delhi in September 2010 soon after the serial blasts had rocked Delhi. A Delhi police inspector was also killed in the encounter.
The encounter had evoked a sharp reaction in Azamgarh, where muslims are in sizable numbers. A new outfit Ulema Council of India came into being after the encounter.
The council members had held demonstrations in Delhi demanding a judicial probe.
A Delhi court on Thursday held Shahzad guilty of killing Sharma during the encounter. Sharma had led the police team that had been involved in the encounter.
The encounter was mired in controversy and the congress general secretary Digvijay Singh had questioned its genuineness while the senior UPA minister P Chidamabaram had termed it as genuine.