Srinagar, Dec 23 (KDC): A designated court under the NIA Act in Srinagar has acquitted three alleged overground workers (OGWs) in the 2020 Taingan CRPF attack case, holding that the prosecution failed to establish a complete and reliable chain of evidence against them.
The judgment was delivered by the Additional Sessions Judge (TADA/POTA), Srinagar, Manjeet Rai, in the case arising out of FIR No. 138/2020 of Police Station Nowgam, which related to a terrorist attack on a CRPF road-opening patrol near Taingan on the Srinagar National Highway on October 5, 2020. Two CRPF personnel were killed and four others injured in the attack.
The accused Faisal Ahmad Ganaie, a resident of Ganaie Mohallah, Shankerpora, Nowgam, Waseem Ahmad Ganaie, a resident of Ganaie Mohallah, Chattergam, and Shakir Ahmad Dar, a resident of Marvel, Kakapora in Pulwama district were charged under multiple provisions of the IPC, Arms Act and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) for allegedly providing shelter, logistical support and transportation to terrorists involved in the attack.
In its judgment, the court noted that none of the CRPF personnel examined as witnesses identified the accused or linked them directly to the incident. The witnesses only established that the attack was carried out by “unknown terrorists.”
The court found that the prosecution case was entirely circumstantial and rested mainly on disclosure statements made in police custody and joint pointing-out memos, which were held to be legally weak. It observed that the disclosures did not lead to the discovery of any new incriminating fact as required under Section 27 of the Evidence Act.
The court also flagged serious investigative lapses, including the absence of independent witnesses, lack of CCTV or technical evidence, non-production of ballistic reports, and failure to conclusively link weapons recovered in a later encounter to the cartridges seized from the crime scene.
The two terrorists allegedly involved in the attack Saifullah, a Pakistani national, and Irshad Ahmad Dar of Pulwama were killed in a encounter at Barzullah, Srinagar, on October 12, 2020. However, the court noted that even this did not establish the role of the accused beyond reasonable doubt.
Holding that the chain of circumstances was incomplete and unreliable, the court extended the benefit of doubt to the accused and acquitted them of all charges. (KDC)
