J&K Police expect to complete investigation regarding lynching of DySP soon

The release said that Pandith from the Security Wing of Jammu and Kashmir Police, along with others, were detailed for Access Control Duty at Jamia Masjid, Srinagar, on the eve of Shab-i-Qadar, on June 22.

The officer while performing his duties was caught by an unruly mob near Jamia Masjid and lynched, the release said.

Subsequently, a case was registered in Nowhatta Police Station and investigations were set into motion.

The police, in the release said that the incident received widespread condemnation across all sections of the society.

A Special Invsrigtion Team (SIT) headed by SP City North, Srinagar, was constituted to carry out the investigation expeditiously, according to the police.

The police said it was "encouraging to note that a very good response was received from the general public and eyewitnesses voluntarily came forward to render assistance in the investigation and provide valuable information regarding the incident."

The police said they have not only managed to identify and arrest the culprits but also recovered important pieces of evidence, including the weapon of offence (iron rod), the identity card, the service pistol (in damaged condition) and the cell phone of the deceased officer.

According to Police, the four main accused were identified and arrested, which led to subsequent arrests. 

In the release, police said that a group of assailants saw the officer checking the security personnel deployed for access control duties of the Jamia Masjid and as the officer came out of the premises of the Masjid, the assailants heckled him.

"It was during the course of this time, a number of miscreants assembled there joined these assailants and started beating the officer leading to his lynching. The officer in self defense fired some shots from his Service Pistol below the waistline causing injury to three assailants who were in his immediate proximity and were heckling him. However, the mob continued to beat him which ended in his lynching," the release mentioned.

During investigations, statement of a  number of eyewitnesses were recorded before the Hon'ble Court of CJM under Section 164-A CrPC, according to police.

The Press Release also mentioned that the postmortem report revealed "fatal head injuries/face injuries resulting in vital organ damage and his spontaneous death." The weapon of offence recovered corroborated the same, the report said.

The police said that so far 20 assailants involved in the incident have been arrested in the case and one of the accused,  Sajad Ahmad Gilkar, has been killed in an encounter on July 12 at Redbugh, Budgam.

"Needles to say vigorous efforts are being made for identification and arrest of the remaining assailants involved in the commission of crimes, besides recovery of other evidence related to the commission of the crime is under way. The investigation of the case is going at a fast pace and some arrests are expected which will lead to the completion of investigation and the case will submitted for judicial determination within the stipulated time frame," " Jammu and Kashmir Police said in the release.