SRINAGAR: A Srinagar court has declared Abdul Rashid Wani legally dead nearly three decades after he allegedly went missing following custody by Army personnel in 1997, bringing a measure of legal closure to a long-pending case, according to a report by ETV Bharat.
As per case details reported by The Hindu, Wani, a resident of Madina Colony, Bemina, was allegedly taken into custody on July 7, 1997, by personnel of the 2/8 Gorkha Rifles from Rawalpora, along with another individual, Farooq Ahmad Bhat, who was later released. Wani, however, never returned home, and his whereabouts remained untraced despite repeated efforts by his family.
In a 13-page judgment, Special Mobile Magistrate PT and E Srinagar, Massarat Jabeen, relied on police reports and judicial inquiry findings suggesting that Wani died while in custody and that his body was allegedly disposed of. The court also observed that neither the Union Territory administration nor the Srinagar Municipal Corporation produced any record showing his release.
The court took note of the prolonged suffering of Wani’s family, including his wife Farida Shabnum and sons Junaid and Arsalan, who testified about the disappearance and its long-term impact on their lives. It further applied the legal principle that a person can be presumed dead after seven years of unexplained absence.
Following the ruling, the court directed the Registrar of Births and Deaths to issue a death certificate, formally recognizing Wani’s status and providing legal closure to the family after 28 years.
