Congress today said that it was not asking for a judicial enquiry into the Batla encounter but wanted a speedy trial of the accused following reports claiming that the post-mortem findings of terrorists killed in the shootout did not corroborate the police theory.
"We are not asking for a judicial enquiry...The NHRC enquired into it. The high court and the Supreme Court have not accepted demand for judicial enquiry," AICC general secretary Digvijay Singh told reporters here.
Singh, who had initially raised doubts about the encounter and wanted an enquiry, said the issue has been debated widely and it was not important to go for a judicial enquiry.
Referring to the Liberhan Commission report, he said it took 17 years to come to a conclusion which was known even earlier.
"What is important now is that the boys named in it should be tried speedily. If they are guilty, they should be given strict punishment. If they are innocent, they should be released," he said.
The Congress leader, who is also the general secretary in-charge of UP, said that the party wants that all teror realted cases pertaining to those who hail from Azamgarh should be clubbed together and there should be a speedy trial.
Singh said he has already met law minister M Veerappa Moily and home minister P Chidambaram and placed the demand before them.
He said there are 26 youth names from Azamgarh and nearby villages and more than 50 cases in six cities and four states have been lodged against them.
Asked about the progress made on his suggestion to club the cases, Singh said, "It can be done.... The Supreme Court has to agree and the government has to take a view."
Singh wanted the NIA to take the investigations in all the cases where chargesheets have not been filed so far.
Some party leader, however, have raised doubts about the veracity of the police story in the Batla House encounter.
"Personally, I am not convinced," a senior leader remarked on condition of anonymity.
A controversy had erupted over the killing of two suspected Indian Mujahiddeen militants Mohammed Atif Amin and Mohammed Sajid in an encounter at the Batla House in Jamia Nagar on September 19, 2008, five days after the serial blasts in the capital, after their neighbours and relatives claimed they were innocent.
The Congress had then asked for an enquiry to put at rest all speculation on the issue.
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