Three acquitted in Hurriyat leader's murder

A local court in Baramulla has acquitted three persons accused of murdering senior leader of moderate faction of Hurriyat Conference Sheikh Abdul Aziz during a protest march in 2008.

They were acquitted by the court of Additional District and Sessions Judge, Baramulla, presided over by Mohammad Yousuf Akhoon yesterday for want of material evidence, defence counsel Sheikh Mohammad Ashraf said today.

Aziz, senior executive member of the moderate faction of Hurriyat and chairman of Peoples League, was shot dead near village Chahal on August 11, 2008 when he was leading a demonstration there.

Initially, security forces were blamed for the killing of Aziz but later investigations showed he was shot from behind by someone who was part of the protest march.

However, the Hurriyat rejected the police stand and claimed that its leader was killed in police firing to prevent the demonstration.

Mohammad Ashraf Akhoon, Faisal Ahmad Bhat and Barkat Ahmad Dar, all residents of Baramulla, were arrested by police in connection with the killing of Aziz.

However, the court after hearing the arguments dismissed the case observing that there was no material evidence on record which could prove their involvement in the crime.