 ATUL SHARMA
Early Times Report
JAMMU, Sept 1: A Special NIA Court turned down the bail plea of a private school teacher arrested five years ago for allegedly harbouring Hizbul Mujahideen militants and running logistical support for the outfit in the volatile Doda-Kishtwar belt of Jammu province.
The court rejected the bail application of Tanveer Ahmad Malik, ruling that the material on record prima facie pointed to his involvement in unlawful and terror-related activities. The Special Judge also flagged concerns that setting Malik free at this stage could jeopardize the ongoing trial, raising the possibility that he might attempt to influence witnesses.
Malik, a resident of Tantna village in Doda, was picked up on March 1, 2021, as part of a special security operation launched after terror activity resurfaced in the mountainous region. He was one of seven accused named in an NIA chargesheet filed on May 22, 2021 - a list that also included three terrorists since killed in encounters: Osama Bin Javed, Haroon Abbas Wani and Zahid Hussain.
The case has its roots in a brazen 2019 ambush. On March 8 that year, terrorists stormed the rented accommodation of head constable Daleep Singh - then serving as escort in-charge to Kishtwar's Deputy Commissioner Angrez Singh Rana - at Asrarabad, and snatched his AK-47 rifle, three magazines and 90 rounds of ammunition at gunpoint. Police first booked the attackers under the Indian Penal Code, the Arms Act and the UAPA, citing a deliberate bid to revive terrorism and undermine national sovereignty in Kishtwar. The Kishtwar police case was later handed over to the NIA, which also invoked provisions of the NDPS Act as the probe widened.
Arguing for bail, the defence leaned on the length of Malik's incarceration, pointing out he had already spent more than five years behind bars. The NIA countered sharply, telling the court the allegations against him were grave, that prima facie evidence firmly implicated him, and that letting him walk free could compromise the trial's remaining course.
According to the prosecution, Malik functioned as an over-ground worker for the banned Hizbul Mujahideen, providing food, shelter and logistical cover to terrorists Haroon Abbas Wani and Tahir Ahmad Bhat between June 2019 and January 2020 - until Wani was gunned down by security forces on January 15, 2020. The NIA told the court Malik had been ideologically driven by the call of "jihad," sheltering the militants not just inside his home but in an underground cave near his residence.
Prosecutors further warned that Malik, if released, could once again be activated by terror handlers for clandestine support work. "The accused is a highly motivated terror associate who had repeatedly put up hectic efforts to support terror-related activities... He was about to join the Hizbul Mujahideen as an active terrorist, but fortunately he was arrested by police at the right time," the NIA submitted.
Weighing the gravity of the allegations, the evidence on record, the trial's current stage and the risk of witness tampering, the Special Judge ruled against granting Malik bail. |
