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| Nandimarg massacre case reopening revives hopes for justice | | |
Early Times Report
Jammu, Sept 1: Even as the Jammu and Kashmir High Court has ordered to reopen the case of the Nadimarg massacre wherein 24 Kashmiri Pandits were brutally murdered in the Pulwama district in March 2003, the development has come as a ray of hope for justice for the Pandit community in general and the survivors in particular.
The survivors of the massacre, their kith and kin have complained that in the last around two decades, successive regimes had been trying to hush up the case.
A senior official told the Early Times on the condition of anonymity that the accused arrested in connection with the case would even not be taken to the Court for hearing regularly and as a result of which the case had almost “disappeared from the public gaze and the helpless Pandit community couldn’t find justice.”
“Over the years the dynasts were never bothered about we getting justice but now we see a ray of hope,” said one of the survivors of the massacre.
In the hearing related to the reopening of the Nadimarg massacre case, HC Judge Justice Sanjay Dhar recently said, "During the pendency of the trial of the case, the prosecution moved an application before the trial court seeking permission to examine material prosecution witnesses on commission, as according to the prosecution, these witnesses had migrated out of Kashmir valley and they were reluctant to depose before the trial court at Shopian in view of the threat perception." Adding further, he said, "The aforesaid application came to be dismissed by the Principal Sessions Judge, Shopian, vide his order dated 09.02.2011. The said order was challenged by the prosecution by way of Criminal Revision Petition No.18/2011. On 21.12.2011, the aforesaid revision petition came to be dismissed by this Court (High Court)."
Its pertinent to mention that following this, a new fresh petition in High Court was filed by the State to challenge the proceedings from the date of framing of the charge by the trial court and a direction was sought for a fresh trial of the case or in the alternative to transfer the same to any court of competent jurisdiction in Jammu so that statements of all the migrated witnesses were recorded in the said case without any fear. However, even this petition was dismissed subsequently. The atrocities on Kashmir Pandits didn’t even after 1990s wherein the community members fled the Kashmir valley following the rise in violence against them and killing of dozens of them.
On March 23, 2003, Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists came dressed in counterfeit military uniforms to Nadimarg in the Pulwama district and killed 24 Kashmiri Pandits in cold blood by lining them and shooting at them indiscriminately. The victims included 11 men, 11 women and two boys including a 2-year-old.
[01/09, 10:19] Sriagar: (Nandimarg massacre shocker: Previous regimes kept accused away from Court 4 dozen times due. The previous regimes kept including Muftis, Abdullahs and Azad kept mastermind Zia Mustafa away from Court saying there was no enough security to take him to Court) |
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