Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, May 2: The State High Court today adjourned the hearing of the alleged fake encounter case involving the designate Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Bikram Singh, who was Brigadier 1-Sector Rashtriya Riffles of Army in south Kashmir when the encounter took place, by one week.
Justice Mansoor Ahmad Mir adjourned the case till May 10 after the State Government counsel, Advocate Nissar Hussain Shah, informed the Court that the objections filed by Senior Superintendent of Police, Anantnag in the case be taken on board as that of the State Government as well.
Earlier on April 11, the High Court had granted one week’s time to the State Government to file objections after the Deputy Advocate General of the State, Alaudin Ganai, prayed that time be given to the State Government to file objections.
SSP Anantnag has pleaded before the court that the petitioners never approached them with the plea seeking reinvestigation of the case.
The police report has also rubbished the claim that the encounter at Janglat Mandi was fake saying the death of two civilians, an army officer and a soldier were facts to the contrary.
Defence Ministry had already submitted their objections to the petition filed by Zaituna, who has alleged that her son Abdullah Bhat, a resident of Macchil in Kupwara district, was killed in a fake encounter at Anantnag town in March 2001 and later branded as a Pakistani militant ‘Mateen Chacha’.
According to the objections filed by the Defence Ministry, Lt Gen Singh, who was then a Brigadier commanding the 1 Sector Rashtriya Rifles in south Kashmir, was returning to Anantnag after visiting various Army units.
Later, when the Army convoy stopped at Janglat Mandi in Anantnag, a militant disguised as a beggar opened indiscriminate fire upon the Armymen.
The dead included Colonel J P Jam, the then Commanding Officer of a local RR unit, Sepoy Ganesh Kumar, Muhammad Shafi son of Abdul Rasheed of Hazratbal-Anantnag, and Abdul Ahad Sheikh son of Ghulam Muhammad Sheikh of Janglat Mandi-Anantnag.
Another person was killed in the retaliatory action of the army and police later ‘identified’ him as a resident of Pakistan.
The counsels for the Defence Ministry, Advocate Karnail Wazir Singh and the petitioner Advocate Zaffar Ahmad Qureshi were also present in the court.
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