Excelsior Correspondent
srinagar, Nov 21: State High Court today directed a CBI probe into the 1998 killing of 19 civilians, including 13 women, in Surankote area of Poonch district on a plea by families of the victims seeking a re-investigation.
Justice M H Attar passed the order for a CBI inquiry after hearing the counsel for the State Government and relatives of the victims of the massacre at Sailan.
“The court ordered that CBI should inquire the allegations leveled by the petitioners,” Additional Advocate General A M Magray told.
On the intervening night of August 3 and 4, 1998, 19 persons-six males and 13 females-were killed at the house of Hassan Mohammad Sheikh at Sailan village in Surankote.
The police, in its FIR, had blamed foreign militants for carrying out the killings but an inquiry conducted by the State Human Rights Commission in October 1998 ruled out the involvement of militants.
In 2011, the families of the victims had filed a petition for re-investigation in the case before the High Court. A status report of September 19, 2012 by the SHO, Surankote Police Station stated that the case was investigated and closed on three occasions. Further, that it is uncertain if the closure report was ever produced before a court as the relevant documents could not be retrieved from the court or the police offices. The office of the Sub Divisional Police Officer [SDPO], Mendhar, where the file last reached, was gutted in a fire in September 19, 2010. It was on this status report that the High Court ordered an investigation by the CBI.
The SHRC also recommended an inquiry into the case.
The families of the victims had filed a petition for re-investigation in the case before the High Court last year.
Human rights groups have welcomed the court order.
“Today’s order, while welcome, is also an indictment of the State Police that took no action for 14 years, and in fact sought to scuttle any fair investigations into the massacre,” JK Coalition of Civil Society alleged.
In a statement, the group said the struggle of the families continues as it is important to ensure that the CBI carries out a fair, speedy and impartial investigation.
“The Government on its own, without waiting for court interventions, should investigate all massacres – such as Gow Kadal, Hawal, Zakoora, Bijbehara, Wandhama, Chattisinghpora, Nadimarg, Chota Bazaar, Sopore, Handwara and Kupwara,” it said.
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