NEW DELHI: A trial court on Tuesday awarded life term to lone suspected Indian Mujahideen operative Shahzad Ahmed who was convicted in the 2008 Batla House encounter for killing inspector M C Sharma and injuring two others.

Shahzad has also been fined Rs 95,000 of which Rs 40,000 would be paid to family of slain inspector MC Sharma and Rs 20,000 to injured cop Balwant.

Additional sessions judge Rajender Kumar Shastri pronounced the quantum of sentence after hearing arguments of the prosecution and the defence.

Delhi Police had sought death penalty for Shahzad Ahmed.

Arguing for death penalty, special public prosecutor Satwinder Kaur had said there were no mitigating circumstances in this case and the convict was involved in several heinous crimes.

“One senior police officer (inspector M C Sharma) was killed and two other officers (head constables Balwant Singh and Rajbir Singh) were injured while performing their duty,” she had said.

Citing Supreme Court verdicts in Devenderpal Singh Bhullar and Ajmal Kasab cases, the prosecutor said this case too has shocked the collective conscience of the society.

She said there was no scope for Shahzad’s reformation and rehabilitation and, seeing the nature of the crimes he is involved in, he would continue being a “threat to society”.

(With inputs from PTI)

