Srinagar: The High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh has sentenced former Station House Officer (SHO) of Sogam, Ghulam Rasool Wani, to life imprisonment after finding him guilty of criminal conspiracy in the 2003 Kupwara fidayeen attack. The verdict overturns his earlier acquittal by a trial court, while the acquittal of his co-accused was upheld.
A Division Bench comprising Justice Sanjeev Kumar and Justice Sanjay Parihar, while partly allowing the State’s appeal, observed that the trial court’s reasoning was “perverse and erroneous.” The judges held that the prosecution had clearly established that then SHO Wani, despite being fully aware of the militant’s identity and mission, facilitated the attack by permitting him to move freely, thereby consenting to the killing of security personnel.
The court found that Wani conspired with Mohammad Ibrahim alias Khalil-Ullah, a Pakistani militant of Jaish-e-Mohammad. On May 12, 2003, disguised in a police uniform, the militant was transported in an official vehicle from Sogam Police Station to Kupwara Chowk, where he opened indiscriminate fire. The assault killed two CRPF constables, B. Prashad and B. Ramaiah of 113 Battalion, and injured six others before the militant was neutralized.
In its detailed 30-page judgment, the bench remarked, “The act of allowing a fully armed militant to proceed unhindered towards a crowded marketplace was akin to firing a loaded cannon into a crowd. The intention to cause death is writ large.”
The court directed Wani to surrender before the trial court to serve his sentence. Meanwhile, the acquittal of Abdul Ahad Rather, Moharir of Sogam Police Station, was upheld due to insufficient evidence. Proceedings against the militant were declared abated owing to his death during the incident.
This ruling comes more than two decades after the attack and overturns the 2011 Sessions Court decision that had acquitted both accused, citing inconsistencies in evidence. The bench placed significant reliance on testimonies of constables who confirmed Wani’s role in facilitating the militant’s movement.
“The State has proved conspiracy under Section 120-B read with 302 RPC beyond doubt in respect of Wani,” the bench concluded, adding that a police officer’s collusion with terrorists represents a grave betrayal of duty and constitutes active facilitation of terrorism.” (JKNS)
