Police on Tuesday arrested former Jammu and Kashmir High Court Bar Association president Mian Qayoom in connection with the killing of advocate Babar Qadri, who had been gunned down outside his residence in the Old City in 2020.
Last year, the HC had transferred the case to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) court in Jammu on the petition moved by the State Investigation Agency (SIA).
“The former high court bar association president has been arrested from Srinagar,” a senior officer privy to the investigation said, adding that the arrest was linked with the murder of advocate Babar Qadri, without giving any further details.
Police had back in 2022 conducted searches at the residences of three advocates in Srinagar, including Qayoom. Investigators had at the time said digital devices, bank statements and other documents were seized.
Last year, the court took into account the alleged threats being issued to Qadri’s family to prevent them from prosecuting the case.
In the chargesheet, police had named Shahid Shafi Mir of Kolipora in Khanyar, Zahid Farooq Khan of Shampora in Nowhatta, Mohammad Asif Bhat of Jogiwan in Amdakadal, Lal Bazar, Munir Aziz War alias Qari Munir of Hatmullah in Kupwara and Towseef Ahmad Shah of Parimpora.
One of the accused named in the chargesheet was killed in an encounter. Senior additional advocate general submitted before the court that fair trial was not possible in Srinagar because the witnesses, more particularly, the deceased’s father and brother were being harassed and threatened to depose in favour of the accused.
{{/usCountry}}One of the accused named in the chargesheet was killed in an encounter. Senior additional advocate general submitted before the court that fair trial was not possible in Srinagar because the witnesses, more particularly, the deceased’s father and brother were being harassed and threatened to depose in favour of the accused.
{{/usCountry}}“It is substantiated by the fact that no counsel from Srinagar was willing to conduct the case on behalf of the complainant, which necessitated the complainant to engage an advocate from Jammu for filing the application seeking further investigation,” the additional advocate general had told the court.
The court also directed the special judge designated under NIA Act, Srinagar, to send the record of the chargesheet to the transferee court.
In July 2023, SIA was handed over the case keeping in view its sensitivity. Qadri was shot dead outside his house in the Hawal area of Old City in Srinagar on September 24, 2020, by unidentified accused. In his late 30s then, he was not a protected person but in 2018, his car had been fired upon.
Just hours before his death, Qadri had in a Facebook live said he was receiving intimidating messages after he had written against the then bar association president Qayoom over the body’s elections. He feared for his life and had urged the police to register an FIR against a social media user who had accused Qadri of being “protected by agencies”.
At the time of the murder, police had formed a five-member special investigation team (SIT) led by a senior police officer to probe the case.
One year into his killing, police killed two militants of The Resistance Front (TRF), an offshoot of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT). Abbas Sheikh, chief of TRF, and his deputy Saqib Manzoor, were killed in an encounter in Srinagar’s Aloochi Bagh.
Police had said Saqib Manzoor was involved in the killing of the advocate. Five accused have since been chargesheeted in the killing of advocate and are lodged in various jails in UT.