2008 Batla House encounter convict dies of illness

Director General (Prisons) Sanjay Beniwal said that Ahmad, a native of UP’s Azamgarh, was lodged in Tihar jail in 2010 and was transferred to Mandoli last year where he was lodged in jail number 15.

Apart from serving a life sentence in the Batla House encounter case, Ahmed is also facing trial in several cases lodged in Delhi and Bangalore. (Express archive)

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Shehzad Ahmad, a convict in the 2008 Batla House encounter case, died during treatment for pancreatitis at AIIMS Saturday, prison officials said. The 32-year-old was convicted in 2013 for the murder of inspector Mohan Chand as well as for injuring other officers.

Director General (Prisons) Sanjay Beniwal said that Ahmad, a native of UP’s Azamgarh, was lodged in Tihar jail in 2010 and was transferred to Mandoli last year where he was lodged in jail number 15. Apart from serving a life sentence in the Batla House encounter case, Ahmed was also facing trial in other cases lodged in Delhi and Bengaluru.

Beniwal said he was admitted to GTB Hospital on December 8 for diagnosis of “gall bladder stone induced acute necrotising pancreatitis with modified CRSI 10/10” and referred to Safdarjung Hospital on December 27. He was referred to AIIMS this month.

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The Batla House encounter took place on September 19, 2008, following a series of blasts in the national capital in which 39 people died and 159 were injured. Inspector Sharma was killed during the crossfire between terrorists and the Delhi Police’s Special Cell in Jamia Nagar’s Batla House.

The police team got a tip-off regarding the presence of terrorists inside a flat in Jamia Nagar and a police team led by Sharma carried out the raid. Two of the men, Md Atif and Md Sajid, sustained bullet injuries in the crossfire and were declared dead on arrival at the hospital.

Ahmad along with Ariz Khan, who was given a death penalty in the case which had been challenged by him before the Delhi High Court, fled the spot and were declared proclaimed offenders by a local court. Ahmad was later arrested by ATS Lucknow from his house in 2010 while Ariz was held from the India-Nepal border in 2018.

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