Court Declares Srinagar Man Dead 28 Yrs After Disappearance

(MENAFN- Kashmir Observer) Srinagar- A court in Jammu and Kashmir has declared a man dead nearly 28 years after he was taken into custody by the Army and subsequently went missing in Srinagar.

Sub-Judge Massarat Jabeen issued a decree of declaration in favour of Abdul Rashid Wani, a resident of Madina Colony, Bemina, Srinagar, on a civil suit filed by his wife and two sons. The court also directed the Registrar Births and Deaths, Srinagar Municipal Corporation, to issue a death certificate in their favour.

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“His whereabouts remain unknown despite judicial inquiry and police investigation. He has not been heard of for more than seven years by those who would have naturally heard of him. Thus, the legal presumption of death squarely applies,” the court observed.

The court held that the cumulative effect of the evidence established that Wani was taken into custody by 2/8 Gorkha Rifles of the Army on July 7, 1997, after which he disappeared.

According to the family, Wani was picked up by the Army at Rawalpora, Srinagar, along with another person, Farooq Ahmad Bhat. While Bhat was later released, Wani never returned and his whereabouts remained unknown since then.

The court noted that an inquiry conducted by the Sessions Judge, Srinagar, on the directions of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court had revealed that Wani was taken into custody and subsequently murdered.

“The inquiry report reads that during the investigation of case FIR No. 180/2002 under Section 364 RPC registered at Police Station Parimpora, Srinagar, it came to fore that Abdul Rashid Wani was taken into custody by the army along with one more person namely Farooq Ahmad Bhat. It further reveals that actually, the accused (Major V.P. Yadav) had murdered Abdul Rashid Wani in his custody and had disposed of his corpse,” the court said.

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The court also observed that despite investigations, Wani could not be traced and the police, in its final report, concluded that he had been killed in custody.

“The findings of the above referred report and statement of the witnesses produced in support of plaintiffs clearly indicate that despite investigation, the missing person could not be traced,” the court said, adding that the issue stood proved in favour of the plaintiffs.

Concluding that Wani had not been heard of for more than seven years and that his whereabouts remained unknown despite judicial and police inquiries, the court ruled that the legal presumption of death applied in the case.

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The family had been pursuing the case for years seeking official recognition of his death and registration with the Srinagar Municipal Corporation.

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