NIA Chargesheet Names Six Hurriyat Leaders In 1996 Srinagar Violence Case
JAMMU, 10 July 2026: The National Investigation Agency chargesheeted six senior leaders of the separatist Hurriyat Conference today in connection with a 1996 case of mob violence and indiscriminate firing on police personnel in Srinagar.
The chargesheet, filed before the NIA Special Court in Jammu, names Kashmiri separatist leaders Shabir Ahmad Shah, Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Abdul Ganie Lone, Mohd Yaqoob Wakeel, Javid Ahmad Mir, and Shakeel Ahmad Bakshi. All six have been charged under relevant provisions of the Ranbir Penal Code for criminal conspiracy, attempt to murder, rioting, and assault on public servants, alongside Section 13 of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act.
The charges against Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Abdul Ganie Lone, and Mohd Yaqoob Wakeel stand abated as they passed away during the pendency of the proceedings, though the chargesheet established their roles in the conspiracy and unlawful assembly with supporting evidence.
During the investigation, the anti-terror agency ascertained that all six accused led an unlawful assembly and instigated large-scale violence against police personnel during a funeral procession of slain terrorist Hilal Ahmad Beigh at Naaz Crossing in Srinagar on 17 July 1996. Armed terrorists blended in with the procession, which was jointly led by the accused Hurriyat leaders, and fired indiscriminately at police personnel during the violence, leaving several police officials injured and government vehicles extensively damaged due to heavy stone pelting.
According to the findings of the agency, the chargesheeted Hurriyat leaders actively incited the violence, raised anti-India, pro-Pakistan, and secessionist slogans, and delivered inflammatory speeches advocating armed struggle.
The meticulous investigation clearly established that the mob violence was part of a larger, pre-planned criminal conspiracy by the Hurriyat leadership to use the funeral procession as a platform for propagating separatist ideology, mobilizing public support against the Government of India, provoking public disorder, and inciting violence against law enforcement agencies while demonstrating their strength in Jammu and Kashmir.
An FIR was initially registered in the case at Police Station Shergarhi in Srinagar on the day of the violence, and the probe agency took over the case in April 2026 on the directives of the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India, with further investigation in the case continuing.