NEW DELHI: Maya Sharma, wife of slain Delhi Police inspector who was killed in the Batla House encounter, heaved a sigh of relief following her "13-year-old struggle of wait and watch" after a Delhi Court awarded death penalty to the accused on Monday.
The court awarded death penalty to Ariz Khan for the murder of decorated Delhi Police Inspector Mohan Chand Sharma in connection with the sensational 2008 Batla House encounter case, saying the offence fell under the "rarest of the rare category" warranting the maximum sentence.
"I want to thank the judiciary. We have got a huge relief after 13 years. Finally, justice has been delivered after our 13 year-long struggle. The court has done justice to us. Until now, we were in a position of wait and watch," the slain inspector's wife, Maya said.
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Mohan Chand Sharma of the special cell was killed during the Batla House encounter between the police and alleged terrorists in south Delhi's Jamia Nagar following serial bomb blasts in the national capital in which 39 people died and 159 were injured.
Sharma had led a seven-member team to the Batla House on September 19, 2008 on a tip-off that suspected terrorists, involved in the serial blasts in the capital, were there.
He had succumbed to the bullet injuries sustained during the gun battle.
He was also accorded the highest gallantry award, the Ashok Chakra.
Last year, he was awarded his seventh Police Medal for Gallantry (PMG).
A trial court had sentenced Indian Mujahideen terrorist Shahzad Ahmed in July 2013 to life imprisonment in connection with the case.
His appeal against the verdict has been pending in the high court.
Ariz Khan had fled from the spot and was declared proclaimed offender.
He was arrested on February 14, 2018, and faced the trial.