SC Orders Prosecution of Alleged Hizbul Mujahideen Operatives in 2019 CRPF Convoy Attack

The Supreme Court has mandated the prosecution of six Hizbul Mujahideen operatives accused of attempting a suicide attack on a Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) convoy in Banihal, Jammu and Kashmir, in March 2019. This decision overturns an April 2021 ruling by the Jammu and Kashmir High Court, directing the trial to proceed. Justices MM Sundaresh and SVN Bhatti ruled that procedural lapses in the case can be remedied, allowing authorities to sanction the prosecution under the Unlawful Activities Act by adhering to the correct procedures. Additional Solicitor General SV Raju represented the agency’s case.

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Dangerous Intentions

On March 30, 2019, suspected Hizbul terrorists attempted a Pulwama-like suicide attack on a CRPF convoy. A suspect, Amin, tried to detonate explosives using a Centro car on the Jammu-Kashmir Highway in Banihal. Fortunately, the CRPF personnel in the bus were unharmed, with only the bus’s glass being shattered. Six individuals, including Amin, were arrested. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) filed the case in September 2019, but in March 2020, a Jammu and Kashmir court acquitted Amin, stating that the District Magistrate (DM) could not register a case without government approval. The High Court upheld this decision. In 2021, the NIA named former police constable Naveen Mustaq as an accused in a supplementary chargesheet.