Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Aug 31: The High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh has sentenced a former police officer to life imprisonment for his role in facilitating a deadly fidayeen (suicide) attack in Kupwara in May 2003, which killed two CRPF personnel and injured several others.
A Division Bench comprising Justice Sanjeev Kumar and Justice Sanjay Parihar, while allowing the State’s appeal, overturned the 2011 acquittal granted by the Sessions Court, Kupwara and held that the former SHO of Police Station Sogam, Rasool Wani, had conspired with a Pakistani militant to unleash terror in the heart of Kupwara town.
The background of the case is that on the morning of May 12, 2003, panic gripped Kupwara when a lone gunman, dressed in stolen police uniform, opened indiscriminate fire near the State Bank of India branch. The militant, later identified as Mohd Ibrahim alias Khalil-Ullah, a Jaish-e-Mohammad fidayeen from Muzaffargarh, Pakistan, killed two CRPF jawans — Constable B Prashad and Constable B Ramaiah of 113 Battalion and injured six others, including police and paramilitary personnel.
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The militant was eventually neutralized but not before inflicting casualties and spreading chaos. A subsequent search recovered an AK-56 rifle, six magazines, 43 rounds and four hand grenades from the slain attacker.
Investigations revealed that the militant had not acted alone. Evidence showed that the fidayeen had been ferried from Sogam to Kupwara in a police vehicle (Tata 407) under the protection of then SHO Gh Rasool Wani and his Munshi, Abdul Ahad Rather.
The militant was introduced to other policemen as a member of the Special Operations Group (SOG), Lalpora, a ploy used by the SHO to conceal his true identity. Witnesses later testified that Wani was seen personally guiding the militant to de-board near the SBI branch, moments before the bloodbath unfolded.
In 2011, the Sessions Judge, Kupwara, acquitted both Wani and his Munshi, citing contradictions in witness testimonies regarding whether the militant wore police or Army uniform. The trial court held that the prosecution failed to conclusively establish the conspiracy.
However, the State filed an acquittal appeal in 2011, arguing that the trial court had ignored clinching evidence. After a protracted hearing, the High Court reserved its judgment on July 30, 2025, and pronounced it on August 30, 2025.
The Division Bench meticulously analyzed the testimonies of prosecution witnesses Constable Ayaz Ahmad, Constable Riyaz Ahmad and Ali Mohammad Mir (the official driver), all of whom consistently stated that Wani knowingly facilitated the militant’s travel from Sogam to Kupwara.
The Bench also noted that uniform belonging to Constable Sumandar Khan, who was on leave at the time, had been stolen, and the same was later recovered from the slain militant. This, the Court said, corroborated the prosecution case that the militant was camouflaged in police attire with the help of the SHO.
Rejecting the trial court’s reasoning, the Judges ruled that minor contradictions about the type of uniform could not overshadow the overwhelming evidence of conspiracy. “The respondent was duty-bound to protect lives and property of security personnel but instead became their tormentor by consciously allowing the militant to unleash mayhem,” the Bench observed.
Holding Wani guilty of criminal conspiracy (Section 120-B RPC) and murder (Section 302 RPC), the Division Bench ruled that he was equally responsible for the killings carried out by the militant. However, the Court found no direct evidence against co-accused Abdul Ahad Rather (Munshi) and upheld his acquittal. Consequently, the High Court convicted Wani and sentenced him to imprisonment for life, directing him to surrender before the trial court to undergo the sentence.
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