Slain lawyer Babar Qadri. File
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
The J&K Police’s special wing, State Investigation Agency (SIA), on Thursday (December 19, 2024) filed a supplementary chargesheet against 80-year-old Mian Abdul Qayoom, former president of the High Court Bar Association-Kashmir (HCBA-K), and claimed documentary and technical evidence about his role in the murder of lawyer Babar Qadri in 2020.
Mr. Qayoom is a senior lawyer and was seen as a close aide of the late Hurriyat chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani. He served as HCBA-K’s president on several occasions and supported Mr. Geelani protest calls.
A SIT spokesman said it had taken over the investigation and on the basis of sufficient oral, documentary and technical evidence, it arrested Mr. Qayoom on June 25 this year “as the principal conspirator behind Qadri’s killing”.
The SIA produced the fresh chargesheet before the Additional Sessions Judge, Jammu.
“It was revealed during the in-depth investigation conducted by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) that Qayoom, who had an inimical relation with the deceased, got Babar Qadri eliminated through terrorists of TRF (The Resistance Front) and their handlers in Pakistan by hatching a criminal conspiracy,” the SIA said.
The police’s special wing said Qadri had been a very vocal young lawyer, “who not only questioned Mr. Qayoom’s one-upmanship at the HCBA-K but severely criticised him on multiple occasions for using the platform for furthering his secessionist agenda”.
“The deceased had also founded a dissident body within the HCBA called Kashmir Lawyers Club, which was attracting a sizable number of Young lawyers. Moreover, the deceased was also contemplating to fight the Bar elections against Mr. Qayoom, which were due to be held around the same time. All this antagonised Mr. Qayoom who on several occasions also threatened the deceased,” the SIA said.
The SIA said Qadri went “live on Facebook on September 24, 2020 [in the] afternoon and denounced Mr. Qayoom for his policies”. “Qadri also expressed his fears of being eliminated at the hands of Mian Qayoom and his coterie. Ironically, a few hours later, he was killed in cold blood at his own residence,” the SIA said.
Qadri was killed at his residence in Srinagar’s Hawal area. “While one of the terrorists waited outside the main gate to keep an eye on the happenings around, the remaining two who were also carrying a dummy case file were made to sit on the chairs placed in the verandah. Soon Qadri came out of the house to meet them and was fired upon minutes later. The terrorists after committing the act fled away from the spot,” the SIA said.
Published – December 19, 2024 10:45 pm IST
