Police cracks Khanyar murder case, arrest three from old Srinagar

Srinagar:  Police have cracked the sensational murder of Khanyar youth and arrested three accused from the old Srinagar.

The accused have been identified as Mohammad Zahid Bhat of Ellahi Bagh Soura, Faizan Fida Bhat of Ellahi Bagh, Soura and Wajid Altaf Kaullah of Jabgri Pora Nowhatta Srinagar. Police said all the three accused persons have been  arrested within 12 hrs of the incident and investigation of the case is underway.

On Monday evening, Ziyaan Chisti, a resident of Rainawari was stabbed to death while another youth was left critically injured near the Dastageer Sahib shrine mosque at Khanyar. The photograph of the dead body of the murdered youth had gone viral on social media.

While reports said that it was a ‘brawl’ that turned ugly, the family of the deceased termed it a “planned murder”. “It is not a scuffle but a planned murder. The incident has shocked the entire family,” said a relative of the deceased without giving any further details.

Police said Khanyar police station received information from reliable sources that some unknown persons have stabbed a person near Dastageer Sahib Khanyar on Monday. He was shifted to SMHS hospital where he was declared dead on arrival. 

“On receipt of this information case FIR No. 03/2021 U/S 302 , 120-B was registered and an investigation was set into motion. During the investigation, technical and circumstantial evidence was collected and eyewitnesses were examined. It led the Investigating Officer to the accused involved in this heinous crime,” said a police spokesman

The stabbing incident had sent shockwaves across the Valley with some netizens drawing parallels with other states and union territories like Uttar Pradesh and New Delhi where such incidents are common. Others demanded exemplary punishment so that such incidents were not repeated.

‘This sort of lynching should not be allowed to continue. Culprits must be punished,” wrote Azeem Khan on Facebook 

Another netizen Zulfi Ali Naqash wrote: “The situation is worsening…..drug-abusing….sexual assault….becomes now common in the valley… every citizen has the responsibility to take early steps to stop this nonsense.”

Interestingly, during the past year 2020, over 26879 criminal cases were registered in Jammu and Kashmir.

“In Jammu Zone 13028 and in Kashmir Zone 13749 criminal cases were registered. Fourteen criminal cases were registered by Railway J&K during the year 2020. As many as 2981 cases were registered regarding crime against women,” state the police records.