Court puts off trial of alleged Pandit killer Bitta Karate
A Srinagar court on Monday adjourned the hearing in the case of the murder of a Kashmiri Pandit businessman Satish Kumar Tikoo allegedly by a former Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) cadre Farooq Ahmed Dar alias Bitta Karate who is accused also of slaying many other members of the minority community in the initial days of militancy in the Valley.
The court adjourned the hearing till June 7 on account of the absence of the petitioner and his lawyer. The sources said that lawyer Utsav Bains, who is appearing for the petitioner, has decided to move to High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh for seeking the transfer of the case, citing ‘security’ reasons. The hearing in the case was adjourned on April 16 also after Bains claimed of not being provided security by the Jammu and Kashmir Police despite an order from the Supreme Court of India.
The trial proceedings began early last month after nearly 31 years following a plea filed by the family of Tickoo, one of the first victims of target killings in the Valley. Terming it ‘a ray of hope’ for the family, Bains had said, “It was the first physical hearing of Tickoo’s murder trial case. He was murdered by Bitta Karate. After thirty-one years the family has come to the trial court…there is a ray of hope for it to get justice as the court hearing today was very positive for it.”
He had added, “We apprised the honourable court that it is a very serious matter as Satish Tickoo was killed in cold blood by Bitta Karate which he has accepted in an interview to the BBC. The lawyer appearing for him was severely reprimanded by the honourable judge for trying to disrupt the court proceedings”. He had further said, “We’re hopeful there will be justice sooner or later. It has taken thirty-one years for the family to finally request for a formal trial in the case. We hope the provisions of the Constitution come into action and the family gets justice and there is healing and closure for the family” (sic). Tickoo’s family is being supported by activist Vikas Raina.
Bains had said that he will be filing an application on behalf of the Tickoo’s family in the Sessions Court for status reports of all the FIRs registered against Dar.
In October 2017, the Supreme Court had refused to reopen cases of killings of Kashmiri Pandits following the outbreak of insurgency in the Valley in 1989-90, the decision termed by Amnesty International as a setback for justice and accountability in J&K. The human rights watchdog had demanded that “all allegations of unlawful killings must be investigated by independent civilian authorities and those responsible brought to justice.”