All six accused acquitted in Showkat Shah murder case

SRINAGAR — A special TADA court on Thursday acquitted all the six persons accused for killing of the prominent cleric and the former head of Jamiat Ahle Hadees, Showkat Shah. One among the accused had already passed away during the trial.

It is pertinent to mention that Showkat Shah was killed in an IED explosion outside a mosque at Maisuma Srinagar on April 8, 2011.

Shah was a close friend of JKLF chief Yasin Malik and was also detained under PSA in 2010 for leading the protests.

His killing evoked widespread condemnation and the investigation was started very quickly.

J&K Police registered a case FIR No. 17 of 2011 U/S 302, 7/27, 4/5 Explosive 13, 18 Unlawful Activities Act and filed a chargesheet before a special court for TADA & POTA. The case contained 105 witnesses.

One of the accused, Abdullah Gani Dar alias Abdullah Ghaznavi, had already passed away on February 02, 2020. Five others who were acquitted include Nisar Ahmad Khan, Javed Ahmad Munshi, Abdul Majeed Dar, Gulzar Khan and Reyaz Ahmad Shah.

The verdict was announced virtually by Ashwani Kumar after a trial of nine years.

Among the five surviving accused, three were already out on bail while one of them was in Central Jail Srinagar and others at Central Jail Kot Bhalwal Jammu.

The accused persons were represented by Advocate Mohammad Abdullah Pandit, Advocate Adil Pandit, Advocate Owais Pandit, Advocate Nadeem Pandit and Advocate Mohammad Amin.