Srinagar, July 30 (IANS) A city court on Saturday directed police to issue a non-bailable warrant against the Srinagar police chief after he defied its orders to register a case against a senior police officer for allegedly shooting a man from point-blank range during a protest earlier this month.
The court had earlier ordered Srinagar's Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Amit Kumar to register a case against Deputy Superintendent of Police Yasir Qadri, who allegedly shot dead a Srinagar youth on July 10.
But the police didn't file an FIR and probe the death of Shabir Ahmad Mir in Srinagar's Tengpora area. Instead a case was registered against Mir under charges of armed rioting and attempt to murder.
Mir's family alleged that Qadri shot him dead in the lawns of their house in Srinagar. According to police, Mir was a notorious stone thrower.
The court had on July 18 and again on July 28 directed Amit Kumar to file the FIR and appear personally if the case was not registered.
On Saturday, as the case came up for the hearing before the court of Chief Judicial Magistrate Masarat Shaheen, the police sought Amit Kumar's exemption from personal appearance and did not submit a copy of the FIR.
An infuriated judge directed the Chief Prosecuting Officer to forward the non-bailable warrant to DIG Central Kashmir and file a compliance report before the court on Monday.
"The SSP Srinagar is further directed to show cause as to why contempt proceedings shall not be initiated against him for not obeying the court directions, whereby he was directed to lodge FIR and file a copy of the FIR within 24 hours,'' the judge said in his order.
"I have also perused the case diaries of the FIR 89/2016, which reveals that the deceased has been cited as accused, who was leading the procession on which the police party has used force."
The order said that the affidavit filed by the deceased's family "reveals that a police officer has exceeded his powers in the house of the applicant and shot his son dead, thereby committing a cognizable offence like murder".
The case comes as the valley remains on boil following violent protests after Hizbul Mujahideen's Burhan Wani was gunned down on July 8. Clashes between security forces and protesters have claimed 50 lives in the past three weeks of unrest.
