The Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh High Court on Friday granted bail to one of the civilian, accused in the Amshipora fake encounter case.
The petitioner, Bilal Ahmad Lone from Pulwama district in South Kashmir, was one of two civilians accused in the case where three labourers were killed in a “staged” encounter and later falsely branded as foreign terrorists.
In July 2020, the Army claimed that three Pakistani militants were killed in Amshipora, Shopian district. However, locals later alleged that the three slain men were cousins from Rajouri district working as labourers. DNA tests confirmed that the deceased were indeed from Rajouri. They were identified as Imtiyaz Ahmed, 20; Abrar Ahmed, 25; and Mohammed Ibrar, 16.
During the police investigation, it was revealed that the trio had been killed by the main accused, Captain Bopinder Singh, also known as Major Bashir Khan of 62 Rashtriya Rifles (RR), along with the involvement of two civilians, Tabish Nazir and Bilal Ahmad Lone.
After investigating the case, charges under Sections 302, 364, 201, 436, 120-B, 182 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Section 7/25 of the Indian Arms Act were established against the three accused, including the petitioner.
Tabish Nazir and Bilal Ahmad Lone were arrested on September 28, 2020, while Captain Bopinder Singh was detained by the Army authorities for trial in a Court of Enquiry. In March 2023, a court-martial convicted Singh. Seven months later, the Armed Forces Tribunal suspended Singh’s life imprisonment sentence and granted him bail.
In his petition, Lone argued that he had turned approver in the case and testified against the accused twice, once before the civil court and again before the General Court Martial. He claimed that he had made a full and honest disclosure of all facts before both courts, rendering his continued detention unnecessary.
The government lawyer opposed the bail, arguing that Lone should not be released until the trial concludes.
However, Justice Sanjay Dhar observed that the petitioner had been granted pardon by the Court of Chief Judicial Magistrate, Shopian, after disclosing full details of the alleged crime, consistent with his earlier statement made when the pardon was granted.
“It is also undisputed that the main accused, Captain Bopinder Singh, was convicted based on the petitioner’s testimony before the Summary General Court Martial,” the court stated.
The court noted that Lone’s role in the crime appeared to be minimal, as he allegedly accompanied the main accused to the site of the encounter but stayed in his vehicle during the alleged fake encounter.
The High Court also referred to a July 20, 2023 order by the trial court, which rejected Lone’s bail application. The court noted that Lone suffers from ailments.
“In the face of aforesaid facts, it is clear that there are exceptional circumstances obtaining in the case at hand, which deserve to be taken note of while considering prayer for grant of bail to the petitioner, who has been in custody for last about four years,” the High Court said.
The court further emphasized that the main accused is already on bail, and the trial against the co-accused is nearing completion.
“The petitioner has complied with the conditions of pardon by making statement before the Court Martial as well as before the trial court in line with his statement recorded by the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Shopian, at the time of tendering pardon to him. Apart from this, the petitioner is also suffering from ailment. Therefore, this is a fit case where the petitioner deserves to be enlarged on bail,” Justice Dhar while admitting the bail application.
As conditions of bail, the court stipulated that Lone cannot leave the jurisdiction of Jammu & Kashmir without the trial court’s permission and must not influence any prosecution witnesses whose testimonies are yet to be recorded.
