Wamiq Farooq killing: HC summons lower courts record

Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir High Court Monday summoned the lower courts record with regard to the killing of teenager Wamiq Farooq.  Advocate Aijaz Ahmad Dar, the counsel of the family told that a single bench of Justice Sunil Hali today summoned the record during first hearing of a revision petition filed by the police challenging Chief Judicial Magistrate as well as Principal District and Sessions Court orders for constituting SIT into the case.    On May 02 last, Sessions Judge, Bansi Lal Bhat dismissed the revision petition by the police with the observation that SIT ordered to be constituted by the CJM shall be put in place within one week, relieving the In-charge Officer of his duties. The court had had also directed that the investigation shall be conducted within two months without failure. The SIT shall be at liberty to register fresh FIR in regard to death of deceased caused by a tear smoke shell fired by the police party,” the court directed. The court directions followed the observations that the investigation was merely step towards bringing the offender to justice. “It is only means to achieve an end and not an end itself. Ultimately determination of guilt or innocence lies in the judicial domain and the magistrate is equipped with the necessary armaments to ensure all stages including the stage of investigation that the justice does not get derailed at the hands of the investigation agency itself by not conducting investigation in a fair and transparent manner,” the court had ruled.    Pertinently, soon after Wamiq’s killing on January 31 last year, his father, Farooq Ahmad Wani, had filed a complaint before the CJM seeking directions to police to register an FIR against the accused Assistant Sub Inspector Abdul Khaliq for offences under section 302 RPC.In one report, the police had termed the teenager as a “miscreant” while in another it said that a departmental inquiry was on and the erring cop had been placed under suspension. However, Wamiq’s father in his application had termed his son as innocent and maintained that he was killed by police. On different versions of the case, the CJM had directed police to constitute SIT, to be headed by SP ranked officer, on February 05 last, tom probe the incident.