Lt Gen Bikram Singh gets breather
Fayaz Bukhari
SRINAGAR, May 16: Army Chief designate, Lt General Bikram Singh, today got a breather in the 2001 Janglat Mandi encounter case as the counsel’s petitioner today said that he has not challenged the genuineness of the encounter but questioned the identity of the ‘assailant’.
The counsel for the petitioner family, Advocate Zaffar Ahmad Qureshi, pleaded before the High Court that they have not challenged the genuineness of the March 2001 Janglat Mandi encounter in which Lt General Bikram Singh was injured but only sought directions for the re-investigation into part of the encounter in which the killed militant was described as Pakistani national.
Earlier, Advocate Qureshi pleaded before the Court that they have not made General Bikram Singh as the respondent in the petition but only sought directions for the re-investigation.
It may be mentioned here that Zaituna, a woman from village Kalaroos near the Line of Control in the frontier district of Kupwara, has filed a petition before the Jammu and Kashmir High Court claiming that the slain ‘assailant’ dubbed by police army as Hizbul Mujahideen militant, Mateen Chacha, was her son Abdullah Bhat.
Qureshi told the High Court that they want re-investigation to establish the identity of the third deceased person whom police and arm described as a Pakistani militant, Mateen Chacha. He said that he wanted re-investigation of the case, exhumation of the body of the person and its DNA testing.
Qureshi said that as a citizen, Zaituna, has every right and the Government has its responsibility to clear to her whether the killed person was his son or not.
It may be mentioned here that Colonel J P Janu, 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 were killed in the Janglat Mandi encounter in which the then brigadier, Lt General Bikram Singh was injured.
As per the police report another person was killed in the retaliatory action of the Army who was later identified as a resident of Pakistan, Mateen Chacha.
Advocate Qureshi said that the investigations by the police have not been conducted properly. He argued that police has not marked the grave of the killed person, have not preserved his photograph and have not conducted his DNA test.
Advocate Qureshi while questioning the investigation process said that the ‘assailant’ has been identified on the basis of illegible Identity card recovered from him and unidentified source. He also challenged the grounds given by the police for not marking the grave of the deceased and described it flimsy.
While arguing for re-investigation, Qureshi said that DIG Anantnag in his letter dated August 9, 2011 has not agreed with the SSP’s report and has suggested that the matter should be entrusted to a gazette officer for investigation.
After the advocate Qureshi finished his argument for the day, Justice Hasnain Masoodi explained the counsel for the Union of India, J S Johal and Karnail Singh Wazir about petitioner’s position regarding the case. Advocate J S Johal told Justice Masoodi that they will reply tomorrow and explain everything to the court.
The High Court will hear this case tomorrow morning.
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