Congress's 'political hypocrisy' stands exposed: Naqvi on Batla House arrest

The Congress "political hypocrisy" stands exposed, Union Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said on Wednesday after a suspected Indian Mujahideen (IM) terrorist, who had escaped the 2008 Batla House encounter, was arrested from the Indo-Nepal border.

The minority affairs minister stressed that the Batla House episode was related to national security and "not religion".

He further charged the Congress with politicising a "sensitive" issue of national security.

"The Congress politicised the sensitive issue of national security. It is unfortunate.

The Batla House issue is not a religious issue, but one related to national security.

The Congress's political hypocrisy stands exposed today," Naqvi said.

A team of the Delhi Police's Special Cell arrested Ariz Khan (32) from Banwasa on Indo-Nepal border yesterday evening, said P S Kushwah, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Special Cell).

Khan was present at Batla House, along with four others, and had managed to give police the slip during the encounter on September 19, 2008 in Delhi's Jamia Nagar, in which two Indian Mujahideen terrorists were killed and as many arrested.

Khan was wanted by the Delhi Police in connection with serial blasts in September 2008 in the national capital in which about 30 people were killed and over 100 injured.

He was also wanted in the Batla House encounter in the same year in which Delhi Police Inspector Mohan Chand Sharma was killed.

Senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh had earlier stated that the 2008 Batla House encounter, in which two suspected Indian Mujahideen terrorists were killed, was "fake".

The Congress, however, has been referring to court and National Human Rights Commission's verdicts that the encounter was genuine.

PTI