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Journalism of Courage
Nearly a month after the lynching of Deputy SP Ayub Pandith at the premises of Jamia Masjid here, police on Monday said that 20 accused have been arrested in the case. A court on Thursday granted judicial remand to 12 of the arrested. Earlier, the court sent three persons to Central Jail on judicial remand. The next hearing is fixed for August 3.
IGP Muneer Khan confirmed that 20 accused had been arrested. “One of the accused, Sajad Ahmad Gilkar, was killed in an encounter in Radbugh village of Budgam on July 12. He was named in 14 FIRs including stabbing cases,” he said.
The police said that they initially arrested those who were injured in firing by the DSP. “The arrested persons revealed more clues about the culprits,” Khan said. He said that Pandith was in Jamia Masjid to protect locals and separatist leader Molvi Umar Farooq, adding, “If the need arises, the police could question Farooq.’’ Giving the sequence of events, Khan said that a group of youths raising pro-Zakir Musa slogans outside Jamia Masjid on Shab-e-Qadr night started beating Pandith after he refused to reveal his identity.
On the basis of disclosures made by the accused, important evidence including the weapon of the offence (Iron rod), identity card, service pistol (in damaged condition) and the cellphone of the deceased officer were recovered. “It was encouraging to see a good response from the public and witnesses who voluntarily came forward to provide valuable information on the incident,” he said.
The case is not yet closed and there could be more arrests, he said. “We are trying to complete the sequence with more arrests.’’
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