30 years after Srinagar violence, Shabir Shah among 6 Hurriyat leaders chargesheeted by NIA

Chargesheet also names Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Abdul Gani Lone and Yaqoob Wakeel — all three of whom have died during the pendency of proceedings

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Friday filed a chargesheet against six senior leaders of the separatist Hurriyat Conference, including Shabir Ahmed Shah and Syed Ali Shah Geelani, in connection with a 1996 case of mob violence and indiscriminate firing on police personnel in Srinagar.

Others named in the chargesheet, filed before the NIA Special Court in Jammu, are Abdul Gani Lone, Mohammad Yaqoob Wakeel, Javid Ahmad Mir, and Shakeel Ahmad Bakshi.

All six have been charged under provisions of the Ranbir Penal Code, 1989 (the primary criminal code of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir), with criminal conspiracy, attempt to murder, rioting and assault on public servants, along with section 13 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967.

The charges against Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Abdul Gani Lone and Yaqoob Wakeel stand abated as they died during the pendency of the proceedings.

During its investigation, the NIA ascertained that all six accused had allegedly 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 July 17, 1996.

According to the investigators, 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, in which several police personnel were injured. Government vehicles were also damaged in heavy stone pelting on the occasion.

As per the NIA’s findings in the case, the chargesheeted Hurriyat leaders allegedly actively incited the violence, raising anti-India, pro-Pakistan and secessionist slogans. They allegedly delivered inflammatory speeches, advocating armed struggle, the NIA further found.

The investigation by the anti-terror agency established that the mob violence was allegedly part of a larger, planned criminal conspiracy of the Hurriyat leadership to use the funeral procession as a platform for propagating separatist ideology, mobilising public support against the Government of India, provoking public disorder, and inciting violence against law enforcement agencies, while demonstrating the strength of the Hurriyat in Jammu and Kashmir, the agency said.

An FIR was initially registered in the case at the Shergarhi police station in Srinagar on the day of the violence. The NIA took over the case in April 2026 on the directives of the Union Ministry of Home Affairs. The investigation in the case is continuing.

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Friday filed a chargesheet against six senior leaders of the separatist Hurriyat Conference, including Shabir Ahmed Shah and Syed Ali Shah Geelani, in connection with a 1996 case of mob violence and indiscriminate firing on police personnel in Srinagar.

Others named in the chargesheet, filed before the NIA Special Court in Jammu, are Abdul Gani Lone, Mohammad Yaqoob Wakeel, Javid Ahmad Mir, and Shakeel Ahmad Bakshi.

All six have been charged under provisions of the Ranbir Penal Code, 1989 (the primary criminal code of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir), with criminal conspiracy, attempt to murder, rioting and assault on public servants, along with section 13 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967.

The charges against Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Abdul Gani Lone and Yaqoob Wakeel stand abated as they died during the pendency of the proceedings.

During its investigation, the NIA ascertained that all six accused had allegedly 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 July 17, 1996.

According to the investigators, 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, in which several police personnel were injured. Government vehicles were also damaged in heavy stone pelting on the occasion.

As per the NIA’s findings in the case, the chargesheeted Hurriyat leaders allegedly actively incited the violence, raising anti-India, pro-Pakistan and secessionist slogans. They allegedly delivered inflammatory speeches, advocating armed struggle, the NIA further found.

The investigation by the anti-terror agency established that the mob violence was allegedly part of a larger, planned criminal conspiracy of the Hurriyat leadership to use the funeral procession as a platform for propagating separatist ideology, mobilising public support against the Government of India, provoking public disorder, and inciting violence against law enforcement agencies, while demonstrating the strength of the Hurriyat in Jammu and Kashmir, the agency said.

An FIR was initially registered in the case at the Shergarhi police station in Srinagar on the day of the violence. The NIA took over the case in April 2026 on the directives of the Union Ministry of Home Affairs. The investigation in the case is continuing.