D A RASHID
Srinagar, Apr 11: Jammu and Kashmir High Court Wednesday granted a week’s time more to the state government to file reply to the petition seeking directions to the government to constitute a special investigation team to probe the alleged fake encounter at Janglat Mandi in south Kashmir involving Lt Gen Bikram Singh, a top contender for the post of Army Chief.
A Bench of Justice Hasnain Massodi while hearing the petition today asked the state government to file the counter to it within a week’s time following a submission by the state counsel, Allaudin, soliciting further time to file the reply.
While the other respondents, Union of India and Senior Superintendent of Police Islamabad (Anantnag) have already filed reply to the petition filed by Zaituna mother of Muhammad Abdullah Bhat through her counsel Z A Qureshi, the state government has yet to file its response.
Besides seeking constitution of an SIT, the petitioner wants a direction to the present SSP Islamabad (Anantnag) and the police officer who was holding the post of SSP on March 1, 2001, when the alleged fake encounter took place and the then Station House Officer Islamabad (Anantnag) to produce before the Court complete record file including the photographs of the deceased.
Zaituna has alleged that her son Muhammad Abdullah Bhat, a resident of Macchil in Kupwara district, was killed in a fake encounter in March 2001 and later branded as a Pakistani militant Mateen Chacha.
The petitioner also seeks direction to then SSP and SHO Islamabad (Anantnag) to identify the grave where the body of the alleged foreign militant namely Ghulam Mohuiddin alias Mateen Chacha was buried so that a DNA test of it could be carried out. The petitioners also seek directions for a compensation of Rs 60 lakhs.
The Union of India in its response to the petition has rejected the allegations that the encounter was fake saying sole aim of the petitioners is to malign the security forces.
One of the major grounds which the Union of India has taken is that the petitioners have not approached any law enforcing authority to get investigation done for 10 years. “Only after lapse of more than 10 years, the petitioners with the sole aim of maligning the security forces and under the tutelage of forces inimical for the maintenance of peace and stability in the region has propagated a patently fanciful theory of alleged fake encounter through an NGO on June 13, 2011,” the response reads.
According to the objections filed by the 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 units.
“When the army convoy stopped at Janglat Mandi in Anantnag, a militant disguised as a beggar opened indiscriminate firing on the armymen. While Colonel JP Janu and Rifleman Ganesh Kumar were killed, Gen Singh and another officer were injured in the attack. The assailant and two civilians were also killed in the incident.”
“The documents recovered by the Police confirmed his identity as foreign militant belonging to HM outfit and his resolve to cause fatal causalities to the security forces. Thus the claim of false encounter is vehemently denied.”
It says it is outrageous to even aver that Brig Bikram Singh by sustaining gunshot injury on his chest in as busy market place at Anantang in presence of local populace will organize fake encounter in broad day light.
“The allegation smacks of malafide and ulterior motive to malign the image and reputation of very senior serving officer of Army and the petitioner has failed to show any link between their missing relative and the incident,” the objection said.
It accused the petitioners of trying to take undue financial benefit from “cooked up story of missing relative.”
The petitioners, the objection says, have no cause to invoke the extraordinary jurisdiction of the High Court under Article 226 of the Constitution of India as none of their fundamental, statutory or any legal rights have been violated. “The writ petition alone on this count alone deserves to be dismissed with exemplary costs,” the objections read.
“The petitioners have not produced any document whatsoever to establish the identity of their son or brother as claimed in the petition,” reveal the objections.
The response has ridiculed the NGO Yes Kashmir saying, “the petition relies upon some investigation conducted by an NGO which allegedly confirmed resemblance of the petitioner’s son/brother with the slain militant…the instant petition is solely based on mere conjectures, surmises and fanciful hypothesis, which cannot be the reason to invoke the extra ordinary jurisdiction of the High Court.”

Lastupdate on : Wed, 11 Apr 2012 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Wed, 11 Apr 2012 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Thu, 12 Apr 2012 00:00:00 IST