Inspector Mohan Chand Sharma lost his life in the 2008 Batla House shootout.
New Delhi: A local court today convicted Indian Mujahideen militant Ariz Khan in the 2008 Batla House shootout case, which he had survived. His sentence has been set for next Monday. A police officer was killed and two others were injured in an encounter between Delhi Police and a mob of terrorists in Okhla area of the national capital. He is also the alleged mastermind of the 2008 serial blasts in Delhi, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh.
In 2013, a Shahzad Ahmed, who survived the Batla House shootout with Khan, was convicted and sentenced. Two of his companions Atif Amin and Mohammad Sajid were killed in the incident. A third, Mohammad Saif, was arrested from the location. Inspector Mohan Chand Sharma of Delhi Police lost his life while two other officers were injured.
Khan, a native of Azamgarh in Uttar Pradesh, was arrested by the Special Cell of Delhi Police in February 2018.
A number of bomb blasts took place in cities like Jaipur and Ahmedabad, apart from the national capital, in which 165 people lost their lives and more than 500 were injured in 2008. In addition to the Interpol Red Corner notice, a reward of ₹ 15 lakh was announced.
A BTech graduate from SD College, Khan, Muzaffarnagar is an explosives specialist. He was included in the Jihadi network by Atif Amin, who died in a shootout in Delhi. After the 2008 blasts, he had shifted his base to Nepal and obtained a Nepal passport by the name Salim. He opened a restaurant there and also taught students.
During his Nepal days, he came in contact with Riyaz Bhatkal, which inspired him to resume the Indian Mujahideen. In 2014, he visited Saudi Arabia to strengthen the terrorist organization, and interacted with several IM and Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) personnel.
In 2017, Khan returned from Saudi Arabia to build Khan for the revival of IM. He was visiting India on February 13, 2018, when he was arrested at the Banbasa border point between India and Nepal. The police got complete information about his plan through SIMI activist Abdul Suhan, who was arrested a month ago.