A court in Jammu and Kashmir has declared a man dead nearly 28 years after he was taken into custody by the army, following which he was missing in Srinagar.
The decree of declaration for Abdul Rashid Wani’s death was issued by Sub Judge Massarat Jabeen ahead of the civil suit filed by Wani’s wife and two sons, directing the Registrar of Births and Deaths, Srinagar Municipal Corporation, Srinagar, to issue a death certificate in their favor.
The court observed that an inquiry was conducted by Sessions Judge Srinagar following the order of the Jammu & Kashmir High Court.
“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 S/o Abdul Samad Wani R/o Madina Colony Bemina, Srinagar, 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 judge said.
The court also noted that the matter’s criminal investigation did not produce any conclusive results on the whereabouts of Wani, and the police also concluded in its final report that he was 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. Therefore, in light of the statement of plaintiffs’ witnesses and report submitted by investigating agencies pursuant to registration of FIR No. 182/2002, the issue stands proved in favor of plaintiffs,” the judge noted.
The court noted that as the whereabouts of Wani remain unknown despite judicial inquiry and police investigation, the court said that the legal presumption of death squarely applies in the case.
