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Batla House Encounter
Context:
The Batla House encounter was an armed operation conducted by the Delhi Police Special Cell on September 19, 2008 in the Batla House area of Jamia Nagar, Okhla, Delhi.
More on News:
- The police were acting on intelligence that terrorists from the Indian Mujahideen (IM) outfit were hiding in a flat there.
- The encounter resulted in the deaths of two suspected terrorists, Atif Amin and Mohammad Sajid, while two others were arrested.
- Inspector Mohan Chand Sharma of the Delhi Police Special Cell, who led the operation, was also killed in the exchange of fire.
Breach in National and Internal Security:
The Batla House encounter highlighted several gaps in India’s national and internal security:
- Intelligence Failure: The presence of IM terrorists in the heart of Delhi, planning attacks, pointed to a failure of intelligence agencies to detect and neutralise the threat.
- Radicalisation of Youth: The encounter brought to light the growing radicalisation of Muslim youth in India, with some joining terrorist outfits like IM.
- Urban Terrorism: The incident showed that terrorists were now operating in urban centers, making detection and prevention more challenging for security forces.
Counter-Reaction by Security Forces:
The encounter triggered a strong reaction from the security establishment:
- Intensified Crackdown: The Delhi Police and central agencies launched a nationwide crackdown on IM and arrested several of its operatives in the aftermath.
- Strengthening Intelligence: The incident led to efforts to improve intelligence gathering and sharing between various agencies to prevent such attacks.
- Enhancing Security: Security was beefed up in Delhi and other major cities to thwart any retaliatory strikes by IM or other terror groups. However, it still led to 26/11 attacks.
Judicial Precedents:
The Batla House encounter case has set several important judicial precedents:
- Conviction of Ariz Khan: In 2021, IM terrorist Ariz Khan alias Junaid was convicted and sentenced to death for the murder of Inspector Sharma.
- Upheld by High Court: In 2023, the Delhi High Court upheld Khan’s conviction but commuted his death sentence to life imprisonment.
- Reliance on Circumstantial Evidence: The courts relied heavily on circumstantial evidence, including the recovery of incriminating material from the encounter site, to convict the accused.