Srinagar, March 23: Court has framed charges against the four accused including two slain militants in the killing of SHO Achabal Firoz Ahmed Dar along with his five men on June 16 last year.
A Special Investigation Team (SIT) of JKP was constituted for the investigation of the killings that had filed a detailed charge sheet on 5th February 2017 against four accused persons among the eight named in the case.
The court today framed charges against the four of them including two already killed in separate encounters in the case. The Charges have been framed against Sandeep Kumar Sharma and Mohammad Ashraf Wani besides Bashir Ahmad Wani and Abu Maz, a foreign terrorist Pakistan (both already killed).
The investigation against other accused who are still absconding including Khurshid Ahmad Ganie, Mehraj -Ud-Din Bangroo, Asif, Sahir Ahmad Makroo and Zeenat-ul-Islam is still going on.
Efforts are on to nab the absconders.
After the registration of FIR in the incident and on the conclusion of investigation into the sensational June 2017 attack in which militants had killed Station House Officer Feroz Ahmad Dar and his five escort personnel in South Kashmir.
The Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the J&K Police had filed a detailed chargesheet on 5th February 2017 against four accused persons among the eight named in the case.
The investigation had “established that LeT terrorists headed by Bashir Lashkari – the main accused —- were involved” in the attack.
Based on the disclosures of Uttar Pradesh resident Sandeep Kumar, another accused in the case, who was arrested from an encounter site on July 1, 2017, in which Bashir Lashkari along with Pakistani militant Abu Maz was killed, the investigators were able to crack the SHO’s murder case. Both Ashraf, hailing from Branti village in Anantnag district, and Sandeep are currently in judicial custody.
In the forefront of anti-militancy operations in the area, SHO Feroz and his men were ambushed and shot at a very close range at 6 pm on June 16 last year at Thajiwara village on the outskirts of Anantnag town while they were returning to the Achabal police station.
Soon after the incident, Lashkar-e-Toiba had claimed responsibility for the attack, in which two civilians were also injured.
In the charge sheet which was filed before the Sessions Court in Anantnag in the first week of last month by SIT head and Superintendent of Police Tahir Ashraf KPS, the police have also named four active militants Khursheed Ahmad Ganai (from Branti in Anantnag), Mehrajuddin Bangroo, alias Asif (Narparistan, Srinagar), Sahir Ahmad Makroo (Bijbehara in Anantnag) and Zeenat-ul-Islam, alias Zeenshah (Malnard Sugan in Shopian), as the accused in the case ,but declared them as absconding.
It states that the main accused Bashir Ahmad Wani, alias Bashir Lashkari (of Kokernag), and Pakistani national Abu Maz were killed in an encounter at Branti in Anantnag on July 1, 2017.
Sandeep, who is also alleged to be involved in other cases involving the theft of ATMs by militants “to earn more money”, confessed before the investigators that he became a conduit for militants after coming in contact with accused Khursheed Gani, who is still absconding.
Next date of hearing is fixed for 28 March.
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