Accused Hizbul man walks free after 18 years as investigating agency fails to find evidence
Accused Hizbul man walks free after 18 years as investigating agency fails to find evidence
This could be an addition to the list of cases that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has abandoned midway because of lack of evidence.
However, more surprising is the way the CBI handled the case and finally filed a closure report saying it has no evidence against the accused, Mohammad Ahsan Dar, one of the closest associates of Syed Salahuddin - the Pakistan-based chief of the terror group Hizb-ul-Mujahideen.
Interestingly, the FIR mentioned Dar was a key Hizb-ul-Mujahideen man.
The FIR against Dar was registered 18 years ago on the confessional statement of one of his co-accused.
Registered under TADA, it was one of the oldest cases under the CBI. The special TADA court let off Dar based on the closure report filed by the CBI, which said there is no prima-facie evidence against him.
Earlier charges
The charges against Dar, as mentioned in the FIR registered on April 20, 1991, included financing terror activities in the country and receiving $10,000 and a letter from Salahuddin.
Dar, 53, who hails from Baramulla in Jammu and Kashmir, evaded arrest for a long time, was finally caught by the Jammu and Kashmir police on January 14, 2009. He was later quizzed by the investigating agency after being taken into a three-day custody in June.
The agency later made a volte-face saying he was not charge sheeted as no incriminating materials could be found. The police had initially arrested two of Dar's accomplices,u00a0 Ashfaq Hussain Lone and Shahbuddin Ghouri from the capital in 1991, as they were going to hold a meeting at the office of Jamaat-e-Islami to step up terror activities in Jammu and Kashmir.
The CBI had filed a charge sheet against the two under the Indian Penal Code and the Terrorists and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act.
