New Delhi [India], September 19 : Delhi Police on Friday remembered the martyrdom of Ashok Chakra Awardee Inspector Mohan Chand Sharma, who led the Batla House encounter.
Sharing a poster, Delhi Police wrote, "Martyrdom does not end something, it is only a beginning."
"Upholding the finest traditions of Delhi Police and enriching it manifold in his own way, Shaheed Mohan Chand Sharma became a Martyr on September 19, 2008, leading his men from the front in a fierce operation," the poster read.
Inspector Mohan Chand Sharma was killed during the encounter when the alleged terrorist opened fire at police personnel.
Ariz Khan and Shahzad Ahmad were found guilty of the murder. Khan was initially granted a death sentence in the case, while in October 2023, the Delhi High Court commuted the death penalty to life imprisonment.
This comes amid a call for a march by All India Students' Association (AISA) in Jamia Milia Islamia marking 17 years of the Batla House encounter.
In a social media post on Thursday, AISA, a left-wing student organisation, announced the 'Insaaf Mashaal Juloos' starting at 5:30 PM from Central Canteen JMI to Khalilullah Masjid.
AISA wrote in an Instagram post, "We Remember Atif and Sajid! We Remember Batla House Encounter! On 19th September 2008, a 17-year-old Mohammad Sajid and Atif Ameen were killed by Delhi police in a rented flat in Batla House. While the police and government claimed the killing as a major success of its counter-terrorism operation, alleging that Atif and Sajid were the key operatives of an organisation called Indian Mujahideen, civil rights activists, along with postmortem reports, pointed out the loopholes in the police story.
"What strengthened the suspicion of local residents and rights activists was the refusal of the government to concede to the demand for a judicial probe into the incident. Despite the NHRC requirement of a magisterial probe into encounter killings, the Delhi government and the Lt. Governor stalled even that," the post added.
The student organisation said that they are taking out the march to reiterate the demand for a fair judicial inquiry into the encounter.
"Since the day of the encounter, we have been demanding a fair judicial enquiry. We take out a torchlight march every year, reasserting this demand. This year will mark 17 years of awaiting justice for the extrajudicial murders of Atif and Sajid. Join Insaaf Mashaal Juloos demanding a fair judicial enquiry into the Batla House encounter," the post read.
The Batla House Encounter by the Delhi Police took place when terrorists of the Indian terror outfit Indian Mujahideen were reported to be hiding in a flat in the area of Jamia Nagar, Okhla, on September 19, 2008.
The operation resulted in the deaths of two terrorists and one police officer, Inspector Mohan Chand Sharma, with the remaining terrorists arrested.