A division bench of Chief Justice Barin Gosh and Justice Mohammad Yaqoob, hearing a PIL filed by the Kashmir Bar Association on June 6, issued these directions after examining the case dairies submitted by SIT chief Shah Din. It asked the SIT to prepare a list of all the civilians who reside within 1,000 meters of the spot from where the bodies of the two women were recovered and a list of policemen, CRPF men and SOG personnel who were posted in the area on May 28 (the day the incident took place) so that blood samples could be collected if required.

The court also ruled that the case should be heard once every week and the SIT should submit a status report at every hearing. The judges also said that the case “being very sensitive should be handled by only an IGP rank officer”. The J-K Advocate General then suggested names of four IGP rank officers but they were rejected by the Bar Association, which later recommended IG Farooq Ahmad for the job.

IG Farooq Ahmad was head of the SIT which investigated the infamous fake encounter case and nailed SSP H R Parihaar and DSP Bahdur Ram for kidnapping and later killing five civilians.

The rape and murder of Nilofar, 22, and her sister-in-law Asiya, 17, in Shopian had sparked massive protests across the Valley.