Srinagar: Nearly 33 years after retired judge Neelkanth Ganjoo was shot dead, the State Investigation Agency (SIA) in Jammu and Kashmir on Monday sought information from the general public to unearth the “larger criminal conspiracy” behind the killing.
Ganjoo had sentenced JKLF founder Mohammad Maqbool Bhat to death in the 1960s in a case related to the murder of police officer Amar Chand. He was shot dead in November 1989.
“In order to unearth the larger criminal conspiracy behind the murder of retired judge, Neelkanth Ganjoo three decades ago, the State Investigation Agency (SIA), through a communique, has appealed to all persons familiar with facts or circumstances of this murder case to come forward and share any account of events which has a direct or indirect bearing on the investigation of the instant case,” an official spokesman said here on Monday.
The spokesman said that the identity of all such persons shall be kept secret and protected, besides all useful and relevant information shall be suitably rewarded.
“The public has been asked to contact on 8899004976 or on email sspsia-kmr@jkpolice.gov.in for any information related to this murder case,” the spokesman said.
As sessions court judge, Ganjoo presided over the trial of JKLF founder Maqbool Bhat in the murder of police inspector Amar Chand in 1966. In August 1968, he sentenced Bhat and one other to death. This sentence was upheld by the Supreme Court in 1982.
In 1984, after JKLF cadres in Britain murdered diplomat Ravindra Mhatre, Bhat’s execution was carried out in Tihar jail. The same year, some militants bombed Ganjoo’s house.
On 4 November 1989, three terrorists surrounded Ganjoo as he was in the Hari Singh Street market in Srinagar and shot him dead.
