NIA files chargesheet against Shabir Ahmad Shah, five senior Hurriyat leaders

NEW DELHI: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Friday filed a chargesheet against separatist leader Shabir Ahmad Shah and five other senior Hurriyat Conference leaders in connection with a 1996 case involving mob violence and indiscriminate firing on police personnel during a funeral procession in Srinagar.Besides Shah, the chargesheet names Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Abdul Ganie Lone, Mohd Yaqoob Wakeel alias Mohd Yaqoob Vakil, Javid Ahmad Mir and Shakeel Ahmad Bakshi.The chargesheet was filed before the NIA Special Court in Jammu under provisions of the Ranbir Penal Code, 1989, for criminal conspiracy, attempt to murder, rioting and assault on public servants, along with Section 13 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967.The NIA said the proceedings against Geelani, Lone and Wakeel have abated as they died during the pendency of the case. However, the agency said the chargesheet establishes their alleged roles in the criminal conspiracy and unlawful assembly, supported by evidence collected during the investigation.According to the NIA, the incident took place on July 17, 1996, during the funeral procession of slain terrorist Hilal Ahmad Beigh at Naaz Crossing in Srinagar.The agency alleged that all six accused led an unlawful assembly and instigated large-scale violence against police personnel.“Armed terrorists blended in with the procession, which was jointly led by the accused Hurriyat leaders, had fired indiscriminately at police personnel during the violence, in which several police officials were injured. Government vehicles were also extensively damaged in heavy stone pelting on the occasion,” the NIA said in a statement.The agency said its investigation found that the accused Hurriyat leaders had actively incited violence by raising anti-India, pro-Pakistan and secessionist slogans.“They had delivered inflammatory speeches advocating armed struggle,” the NIA said.According to the agency, the violence was part of a larger, pre-planned conspiracy by the Hurriyat leadership.“The mob violence was part of a larger, pre-planned criminal conspiracy of the Hurriyat leadership to use the funeral procession as a platform for propagating separatist ideology, mobilising public support against the Government of India, provoking public disorder, and inciting violence against law enforcement agencies, while demonstrating the strength of the Hurriyat in Jammu and Kashmir,” the agency said.An FIR was initially registered at Srinagar’s Shergarhi Police Station on the day of the incident. The NIA took over the investigation in April 2026 following directions from the home affairs ministry. The agency said that the investigation into the case is continuing.(with inputs from ANI)