Early Times Report
Jammu, Aug 8: Already facing trial in the killing of four unarmed officers of the Indian Air Force (IAF), the decision of the State Investigation Agency (SIA) to reopen the investigation of the gruesome murder of retired Judge Neelkanth Ganjoo has added to the woes of jailed chairman of banned Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) Yasin Malik.
The way investigating agencies have collected evidence against Yasin Malik it will be no surprise if the dreaded confessed terrorist of the early 1990s may have the gallows in the coming days.
Four Indian Air Force (IAF) personnel, including Ravi Khanna, were killed in a terror attack on January 25, 1990, in which JKLF chief Yasin Malik was involved.
The charges were brought against Malik and six others on March 16, 2020, in the killing of four IAF personnel on the outskirts of Srinagar in 1990.
Besides Malik, others accused charged in the killing of IAF personnel are Ali Mohammed Mir, Manzoor Ahmed Sofi alias Mustafa, Javed Ahmed Mir alias 'Nalka', Showkat Ahmed Bakshi, Javed Ahmed Zargar, and Nanaji.
Trial in both the cases was resumed on September 11, 2019 after three-decades.
On March 7, 2019, Malik was booked under Public Safety Act (PSA) and was brought to Jammu from Srinagar and was shifted to Kot Bhawal Jail. After booking Malik under PSA, his organization JKLF was banned by the Centre under anti-terror law. Within days of banning his organization, Malik was shifted from Jammu to Tihar Jail. The SIA has appealed to all persons familiar with the gruesome killing of retired Session Judge, Neelkanth Ganjoo three decades ago, to come forward and share any account of events which has direct or indirect bearing on the investigation of the instant case.
Neekanth, a Session Court, Judge was killed on November 4, 1989 by three Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) militants in broad daylight just after the eruption of terrorism in Kashmir Valley.
As a Session Judge, Neelkanth Ganjoo had given death sentence to JKLF terrorist, Maqbool Bhat in August 1968 who was involved in the killings of CID Officer, Amar Chand in the Valley and Indian diplomat Ravinder Mahattre in the United Kingdom. |
