Srinagar: The Jammu and Kashmir High Court has ordered fresh investigation by the Crime Branch into the killing of teenager Tufail Mattoo in police firing, which triggered the summer agitation of 2010 in the Valley, observing that an attempt has been made to save certain police officials.
Justice Virender Singh after quashing the trial court order, which had accepted closure report of Special Investigation Team (SIT), asked the state Director General of Police to handover the investigation to Crime Branch.
The court announced the judgement yesterday, eight months after reserving it, and directed the DGP that an officer of the rank of Superintendent of Police only shall conduct the investigation and submit status report within eight weeks.
"The court will be reluctant in extending the time except on bonafide grounds as the incident relates to June 2010," the bench said.
The bench said the Crime Branch will be at liberty to move a formal application before court of Special Mobile Magistrate Srinagar for taking into their possession the entire record of investigation already submitted before it by SIT, resulting into closure of the case "as it may facilitate the Crime Branch to proceed ahead with the investigation afresh."
The Special Mobile Magistrate (PT&E) Srinagar had on March 1 last year accepted the closure report by it.
Tufail Ahmad Mattoo (17) had been killed in a clash between stone pelting protesters and police at Ghani memorial stadium near Rajouri Kadal in old city on June 11, 2010.
During the clash, a teargas shell fired by police hit him on the head, killing him on the spot.
The killing of Tufail, had triggered protests on the streets of Kashmir.The investigation of the case was carried by SIT and in November 2012, it filed the final report before High Court, closing the case as "untraced".
"The SIT headed by Superintendent of Police has consumed unreasonably good period in concluding the investigation for which no doubt explanation was tendered, but from the status/closure report now submitted before the court, it appears that the matter has not been investigated in the direction it should have been done," the court said.
"It is incomplete on many vital aspects and it appears as if attempt has been made to save certain police officials,"it said.
The allegation of commission of offence is against the police personnel, the court said.
"It does not stand to reason that police cannot trace the alleged perpetrator of crime when he/they, is/are the members of police force only," the court said.
It said Tufail`s parents have been deprived of their only son and "police cannot be permitted to abdicate its statutory duty of identifying the culprit and bringing him to justice."
The court said a criminal case is totally dependent upon the investigation and in case the investigation is not conducted properly, fairly and impartially, it will result into grave miscarriage of justice.
"Since I am not inclined to accept the closure report filed by SIT and find it to be a case which requires in-depth investigation afresh, it would not be proper for me to express opinion on certain loose ends kept by SIT in its investigation lest the fresh investigation to be conducted is prejudiced by the opinion/expression of this court," it said.
The judgement was announced by Justice Janak Raj Kotwal as Justice Virender Singh is presently in Jammu wing of the High Court.
