Mirwaiz Farooq murder case: Two absconding Hizbul Mujahideen terrorists arrested in J&K

Srinagar (Jammu and Kashmir) [India], May 16 (ANI): State Investigation Agency (SIA) of Jammu and Kashmir Police arrested two absconding terrorists of Hizbul Mujahideen involved in the killing of Mirwaiz Farooq in 1990, said Director General of Police (DGP) Dilbagh Singh on Tuesday.

According to police, five terrorists were involved in the killing of Farooq.
“Among the accused, Abdullah Bangroo and Rehman Shigan were killed in encounters.

Ayub Dar underwent a trial and was convicted for life. He is currently serving a life sentence in Srinagar central jail. Javaid Bhat and Zahoor Bhat were absconding and hence escaped trial. They are now apprehended,” DGP Dilbagh Singh said.

The arrested terrorists Javaid Ahmad Bhat and Zahoor Ahmad Bhat are residents of Srinagar. They were absconding after murdering Mirwaiz Farooq on May 21, 1990.

“The two had gone underground and during all these years were hiding in Nepal and Pakistan among other places before surreptitiously returning back to Kashmir a few years ago. Maintaining a low profile, changing addresses and shifting residences, they avoided the gaze of law enforcement agencies,” said the DGP.

Accused in the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) case (pertaining to the killing of Mirwaiz Farooq) are now liable to immediately face trial in a designated Terrorist and Disruptive Activities Prevention Act (TADA) court in Delhi which has already completed the trial in respect of one of the five accused namely Ayub Dar who has been convicted and serving a life sentence.

Two other absconding accused terrorists found guilty in the killing of Mirwaiz, Abdullah Bangroo and Abdul Rehman Shigan, got killed in encounters with security forces in the 1990s.

To recapitulate, on May 21, 1990, Mirwaiz Farooq, the head priest of Kashmir was killed by terrorists of Hizbul Mujahideen accusing him of being a ‘peacenik’ and an ‘Indian agent’.

A case was registered in Nageen police station, Srinagar to investigate the crime. Thereafter the case was transferred to CBI on June 11, 1990.

After a long and arduous legal process of investigation and prosecution, the designated TADA court, in 2009, convicted the only arrested accused Ayub Dar for life.

Ayub Dar, the convicted terrorist and one of the killers appealed against his conviction, which however, was upheld by the Division Bench of the Supreme Court on July 21, 2010.

Before killing Mirwaiz, all five HM terrorists had gone to Pakistan for terrorist training in 1990. Back in Srinagar, Abdullah Bangroo received instructions in April 1990 from his Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) handler in Pakistan to eliminate Mirwaiz. (ANI)