HC orders resumption of trial in 2003 Nadimarg massacre case

Samaan Lateef

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Srinagar, October 29

The High Court of J&K and Ladakh on Saturday allowed a revision petition of the police, ordering resumption of the 2003 Nadimarg (Pulwama) massacre case trial. Justice Vinod Chatterji Koul ordered the Shopian trial court to take all necessary measures for ensuring the examination of witnesses by “issuing commission and/or recording their statements through videoconferencing”.

24 Pandits were gunned down then

• On the night of March 23, 2003, Lashkar-e-Toiba terrorists entered a camp housing 54 Kashmiri Pandits of 11 families, lined up 24 of them before opening fire.
• Two children, 11 men and as many women were among the victims. Terrorists had disarmed the cops at the camp before committing the crime.

On March 23, 2003, terrorists in military fatigues killed 24 Pandits in Nadimarg village of Pulwama. The main accused, Zia Mustafa, a Lashkar-e-Toiba militant, was killed last year after spending over a decade in jail. “It has been rightly stated by the petitioner that the trial court has not appreciated the difficulty of the prosecution in procuring the presence of witnesses. And the trial court’s endeavour in a heinous crime like one on hand should be to examine all the witnesses on commission so as to unveil the truth,” Justice Koul said. “I am of the view that the trial court has dismissed the application of the prosecution for examining the witnesses on commission on irrelevant consideration while overlooking the material and relevant aspect of the case,” the HC said. Justice Koul, while setting aside the court order of 2011, said the application of prosecution for recording statements of witnesses on commission deserved to be allowed.

The case was closed when some witnesses moved out of the Valley and the prosecution filed “an application before the trial court seeking permission to examine material prosecution witnesses on commission”. The trial court had dismissed the application and the HC had upheld that decision in 2011.

‘Examine witnesses’

Justice Vinod Chatterji Koul directed examination of the witnesses. A Shopian court had in 2011 dismissed the application of the prosecution for examining the witnesses.