A important development is that the State Investigation Agency (SIA) has asked for help from the public in order to look into the murder of Judge Neelkanth Ganjoo, who was killed on November 4, 1989, in Srinagar by militants from the Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF). Maqbool Bhat, a founder of the JKLF, had been executed by Ganjoo in 1968. The death of Bhat was carried out in 1984.
In a statement, the SIA urged anybody with knowledge of the details or circumstances surrounding the murder of Neelkanth Ganjoo to come forward and provide any information that would help the investigation.
According to the SIA statement, “All such persons’ identities shall be kept completely secret and protected; all useful and pertinent information shall be appropriately rewarded.”
A number of political killings, including that of retired judge Neelkanth Ganjoo and National Conference member Muhammad Yusuf Halwai, occurred in 1989, the year the insurgency in Kashmir officially began.
Two suspects in the 1990 killing of Mirwaiz Mohammad Farooq, who was assassinated by terrorists at his Nigeen home on May 21, were detained by Jammu and Kashmir Police in May.
The death of Mirwaiz was reported to the Nageen police station in Srinagar on May 21, 1990, and the matter was subsequently turned over to the CBI, according to Special Director General of Police (CID) RR Swain. The CBI conducted an investigation, issued a chargesheet, and one defendant, Ayub Dar, was found guilty by the court. The judge gave him a life sentence.
The inquiry revealed five people were engaged in the crime, and the major suspects Abdullah Bangroo and Rehman Shigan were slain in a shootout while they were on the run, Swain said. Two other people, Javaid Bhat and Zahoor Bhat, who were evading capture, were also apprehended.
“And with it, after 32 years, the long arms of the justice have caught them,” he said.
