Taking up the petition filed by families of three killed in a 1996 Bhaderwah encounter,the Jammu and Kashmir High Court on Friday called it a serious matter and posted it for hearing on September 30. A Crime Branch report on the alleged encounter had indicted DGP Kuldeep Khoda (then DIG,Doda-Udhampur range). The court asked J&K Advocate General Ishaq Qadri to be present at the next hearing. The petitioners have sought a fresh investigation to identify the actual accused,and a probe into the role of Khoda,named as a respondent. The case was listed for September 30 as no one from the government was present at Fridays hearing. However,a large number of police officials and its intelligence wing were present. A police vehicle and weapons were allegedly used in the encounter. A Sessions Court had acquitted the main accused in the case Mohd Ashraf,a police informer. The petition by the victims points out that the Sessions Court had raised several questions on the silence of the prosecution on the role of the police. The Sessions Court had termed the prosecution case strange,questioning why Ashraf and his companions were provided all kinds of police assistance,including a police truck,if he was known not to have good conduct. The judgment had also dismissed the prosecutions argument that arms and ammunition were provided to them for being members of Village Defence Committee,as factually inaccurate. With the role of the police coming under scrutiny,the government hadnt appealed against Ashrafs acquittal. The Indian Express had first reported that a Crime Branch investigation had named Khoda. The J&K government has remained silent on the issue and CM Omar Abdullah has refused to comment on it. In their petition,Nazeera Begum and Shaheena Begum,wives of Fazal Hussain Dar and Mohammad Hussain,have cited the Crime Branch report and sought a CBI investigation. The petitioners have been deprived of fair investigation, the petition,filed by advocate Parvez Imroz,reads. Instead a defective investigation was conducted,which helped the accused. The investigation was faulty and dishonest to shield actual culprits and respondent No. 2 (DGP Khoda). The petitioners claim the police conducted the investigations in a manner so as to shield the top officials. The charge sheet was produced based on the police station Bhaderwahs investigation and the Crime Branch investigation never found its way, the petition reads. The petition lists many facts indicating Khodas culpability: * Then DIG Khoda met Ashraf and his associates before and after encounter. * Khoda provided the police truck and ordered a police driver to be on duty with the perpetrators from 02/01/1996 to 04/01/1996,during which the kidnapping and killings took place. * Khoda provided arms and ammunitions to perpetrators,which werew used. * After the crime,the police driver,Shadi Lal,informed Khoda that Ashraf and accomplices had picked up and killed three villagers. * Khoda didnt take cognisance of this. In his statement recorded by the IO,Khoda admitted that Ashraf and his associates had met him and taken police assistance,but claimed Ashraf had told him that he would get his brother,an Al-Jihad militant,to surrender. He also claimed that Ashraf was a VDC member and a SPO. However,he was silent on the antecedents of Ashrafs two accomplices.
