Prosecution witness records statement in Kashmir fake encounter

Srinagar, June 20 (UNI) A local court here today recorded the statement of a prosecution witness in the fake encounter case of carpenter Abdur Rehman Padder.

Assistant superintendent jail Ghulam Qadir Padder, a close relative of murdered carpenter, recorded the statement in the court of Principal District and Sessions Judge Mohammad Yaqoob Mir.

In the statement, the assistant superintendent jail said Padder had telephoned him at 0800 hrs on December 8 last year.

He said the carpenter told him that a special operation group (SOG) driver, Farooq Ahmed Padder, wanted to meet him.

The carpenter requested the assistant superintendent to meet him after Friday prayers. However, he said Padder did not meet him and his cell phone came switched off thereafter.

Earlier, the court charged seven policemen, including suspended Superintendent of Police Hans Raj Parihar, with murder and abduction in connection with the disappearance of Abdur Rehman Padder, a resident of Kokernag, in Ganderbal district last year.

The accused have denied the charges.

UNI