New ATS arrests rekindle fear in Azamgarh, 18 years after Batla House event
Azamgarh: Eighteen years after what Indian Muslims call the fake Batla House encounter in New Delhi in September 2008, the arrest of two youth from Azamgarh in Uttar Pradesh by the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) has revived fear among local families.
The ATS arrested Mohammad Sheikh from Khudadadpur village on May 31 this year and 19-year-old Mohammad Nabil from Chatara Mahmoodpur on September 12, triggering anxiety in parts of Azamgarh where many families associate such arrests with the large-scale crackdown that followed the Batla House encounter.
In order to justify the arrests, locals said, the ATS has falsely linked Sheikh to those reportedly promoting Al-Qaeda in India and circulating relevant material through WhatsApp groups.
The allegations are yet to be decided by a court. Civil rights activists said every new arrest brings back memories of prolonged legal battles, financial hardship and uncertainty faced by families after 2008.
General Secretary of Rihai Manch Rajiv Yadav said suspicion attached to certain areas and families continues for years as police and media often link new arrests with previous cases.
Families affected by earlier cases continue to attend court hearings in different cities, while some parents died waiting for outcomes, activists said.
In September 19, 2008, Delhi Police Special Cell raided a flat in Batla House, Jamia Nagar, New Delhi and killed two Muslim youth – Atif Ameen and Mohammad Sajid – of Azamgarh, projecting them as Indian Mujahideen operatives behind Delhi blasts.
However, Muslim groups and human rights bodies in India have consistently denied the allegation and held that it as a extrajudicial killing used to justify a large-scale crackdown, vilification and arbitrary arrests of Azamgarh youth, mostly Muslims, under draconian laws. Questions were raised by civil society, media and judicial inquiries about the encounter, but families never got justice and many arrested were later acquitted after years in jail.
