Srinagar, September 27, 2011: In the Anchidora cold blooded murder case, the Court has granted bail to the police constable earlier this year who was reported one involved in the killing of three boys in Islamabad town.
Court of the Principal District and Sessions Judge, Muhammad Nazir Fida, while pronouncing the judgment, held that no material evidence had come against the constable, Nissar Ahmad which would suggest his involvement in the killing of three teenagers.
Three teenagers- Shuja’at-ul-Islam, 17, Ishtiyaq Ahmad Khanday, 15, and Imtiyaz Ahmad Itoo, 15, were killed in cold blood in the compound of one of the house in Anchidora in Islamabad town on June 29, 2010 by police after the latter chased away some protesting youth. Four other persons were also injured in the firing incident.
After hearing the arguments of the counsel of the police man, Advocate Munur-u-Din Shawl and prosecution, the Court observed: “It is a fact that police has carried the investigation in casual and faulty manner and that they have not conducted further investigations despite the Court orders.”
It said that the witnesses had not deposed any material before the Court which would suggest the involvement of the accused.
“The police man was allotted an AK 47 Rifle consisting of 30 rounds and he has deposited it back. So the question of consuming it does not arise at all,” the order read.
The Court also took on the police investigation team for failing to comply with its directions to conduct further investigations into the case so that the real culprits are brought to book.
“The police is delaying the investigation on one pretext or the other,” the court observed.
Earlier, on March 29, the same Court had framed charges for commission of offence under 302 (murder), 307 (attempt to murder), RPC and 27 (1) Arms Act against the accused constable Nisar Ahmad and also directed the Inspector General of Police (IGP) to conduct further investigations and submit a report within a month.
“Keeping the public importance of case in consideration and material available against the other suspected police officials, the Court had observed that the reinvestigation of the case be carried through Inspector General of Police (IGP), S M Sahai to bring the other culprits to book.
"The other persons who are responsible for committing this heinous crime should also be questioned and brought to book within a month," the Court order had said.
The IGP had been asked to file the investigation report within a month.
Talking to Greater Kashmir, the counsel, Advocate Munur-u-Din Shawl said, “Though I won the case, but I lost the battle as the justice for those innocent lives is yet to be done and the guilty are still roaming free”.
Shawl said that the investigation had been prejudiced and that a constable was booked only to shield the real culprits which everybody knows were the high rank police officials.
“Despite Court directing the IGP to conduct the investigation so that other police personnel responsible are also questioned, no heed has been paid to it,” said Shawl.
He questioned that if the police was on March, 29 asked to submit a report within a month by the Court why has it failed to do so.
Pertinently, the authority had last year ordered magisterial inquiry into the incident which indicted five policemen including two officials into the killings, where as the police initiated separate investigation into the incident through a special investigation team (SIT) and charge-sheeted constable, Nisar Ahmad now granted bail. The administration, during the last summer so-called Assembly session, had also admitted that the three teenagers were killed in cold blood and asked the police investigating agency to consider the Magisterial Inquiry Report (MIR) conducted by then Assistant Commissioner Revenue (ACR).’’
Meanwhile, the High Court on Monday directed the Director General of Police to constitute Special Investigation Team (SIT) headed by a Superintendent of Police to investigate Tufail Matto case and file the progress report to it within three weeks.
The Court of Justice Muzaffar Hussain Attar asked the DGP to constitute the SIT headed by a police officer with a rank not below of SP to probe the killing and file the progress report to the Court after three weeks.
The Court also asked the Special Investigation Team which was carrying out the investigation in the case to handover all the documents pertaining to its investigation to the SIT to be constituted by the DGP.
The Court passed the order after hearing the arguments of senior counsel, Mian Abdul Qayoom, who pleaded before it that the investigation carried out by the SIT constituted by the state following the directions of the Chief Judicial Magistrate Srinagar are tardy and unsatisfactory.
In the wake of High Court directions to the state to constitute the SIT under SP, the SIT which was constituted by the state earlier in keeping with the directions of the trial Court has lost relevance and the case will be heard by the High Court now.
During the last several hearings, the Court of Chief Judicial Magistrate Srinagar had expressed displeasure and pulled up the Police for carrying out a dilatory investigation into the matter and had asked the SIT to expedite the matter.
Mattoo’s death had triggered protests in the valley in 2010 and at least 120 persons were killed in paramilitary and police firings in Kashmir valley. According to the family, Tufail was returning home from tuition on June 11 last year when police teargas shell hit him near Gani Memorial College in old city, killing him on the spot.