Court to pronounce decision on murder case on Jan 18 in Kashmir

Srinagar, Jan 1 (UNI) A local court in north Kashmir will pronounce its final verdict on January 18 in a murder case of a professor, his wife, daughter and sister-in-law by a counter insurgent in July 1999.

The sessions court at Kupwara, after hearing the arguments from both sides said the final verdict will be announced on January 18, 2008.

According to the case history, counter-insurgent, Sarvar Ahmad Ganai working with security forces, shot dead in cold blood Prof Mohammad Amin Shah, wife Shareefa, daughter Snowbar and sister-in-law Zareefa Begum on July 13, 1999 in their house.

The court convicted him of murder after hearing both the counsels and witnesses in the case.

It said at 2100 hrs on July 13, 1999, Sarvar accompanied by a senior Army officer, gate crashed into the house and killed the entire family.

The accused was identified by one of the victim women who unmasked him before she too was killed.

Sarvar was presented before the court under tight security arrangments as hundreds of people, including relatives of victims, were waiting for the verdict in the court premises.

The defence counsel said it was not rarest of rare cases as claimed by the public prosecutor because killings were common in Kupwara during the nineties.

He prayed for life imprisonment to Sarvar.

However, the public prosecutor argued that the crime committed by Sarvar was ''un-common'' as he had massacred the whole family of a Professor.

He pleaded that the convict should be hanged to death.

UNI BAS BDP AS1623