J&K court acquits 3 accused held for possessing AK-47, grenades

SRINAGAR: A sessions tribunal successful Jammu and Kashmir has acquitted 3 radical arrested successful 2022 for allegedly possessing arms, observing that the prosecution failed to beryllium beyond tenable uncertainty that the accused were successful “conscious and unauthorised possession” of the arms astatine the clip of their arrest.Additional sessions justice Manjeet Rai connected Tuesday said determination was a “total lack of autarkic witnesses oregon corroborative evidence” to enactment the UAPA allegations of relation with Al-Badr and an intended violent act.“Accordingly, each 3 accused, namely Wajid Ahmad Bhat, Masrat Bilal, and Rameez Ahmad Dar, are acquitted of each charges levelled against them successful this case,” the tribunal said, directing constabulary to merchandise them “forthwith, if not required successful immoderate different case.”As per the prosecution, during a checking cognition astatine Batamaloo successful Srinagar connected Oct 10, 2022, the accused allegedly attempted to fly but were apprehended by police. One unrecorded grenade was recovered from Bhat, portion different unrecorded grenade, an AK-47 magazine, and 30 unrecorded rounds were recovered from Bilal. Police claimed that Rs 47,500 successful currency was recovered from Dar.The chargesheet said the accused disclosed that they were moving arsenic “terrorist associates” of Al-Badr and had received the arms and ammunition from a masked overground idiosyncratic of the organisation successful Kulgam successful southbound Kashmir.

However, the defence counsel argued that the full lawsuit rested solely connected constabulary witnesses, without a azygous autarkic civilian witness, contempt the admitted beingness of a CRPF bunker and shops connected 3 sides of the spot from wherever the accused were arrested.