Srinagar, July 18: A local court has acquitted three men in the 2017 murder and theft case of Neelofar Azad, citing lack of strong evidence and serious flaws in the police investigation.
The incident took place at the residence of the complainant, Azad Ahmad Bhat, in Pokhribal Botakadal, Srinagar, which falls under the jurisdiction of Police Station Lal Bazar.
The main accused, Shiraz Ahmad Ellahi, a resident of Machoowa Chadoora, was earlier charged with murder and theft of gold ornaments, while two others — Ashiq Hussain Ganai, a resident of Chadoora, and Mohammad Amin Zargar, a resident of Draigam Budgam — were accused of receiving the stolen items.
The court found that the case was based only on circumstantial evidence, which was not strong enough to prove the charges. The call detail records (CDRs) submitted by police were ruled out as invalid because they didn’t follow the proper legal procedure under Section 65-B of the Indian Evidence Act.
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The court also noted that the stolen ornaments were not clearly proven to be recovered based on the accused’s statements. Witnesses gave conflicting statements, and the process of identifying the ornaments was not done properly.
The postmortem report showed that Neelofar died on January 21, 2017, which did not match the prosecution’s claim that she was murdered on January 19.
Further, the court criticized the police investigation, saying it was casual and unprofessional. Important details — like how the victim’s infant survived for three days, the role of neighbors, and the behavior of the complainant — were not properly investigated.
Due to these serious lapses and lack of solid evidence, all three accused were acquitted. The court also ordered a departmental inquiry against the investigating officer for mishandling the case.
The judge stressed that suspicion cannot take the place of proof, and a person can only be punished if guilt is proven beyond reasonable doubt.
Advocate Abu Owais Pandit, Advocate Amin, and Advocate Anil Raina represented the accused in the case.
