Ramban court sentences militant arrested in 2019 to two life terms for 2005 family killings

Ramban: A court in Jammu and Kashmir’s Ramban district has sentenced Mohammad Sharief, who was arrested in 2019 in connection with a 2005 militant attack in Gool Ramban, to two life terms for the killing of three members of a family, including a five-month-old infant. The court rejected the defence plea challenging the prosecution’s evidence, observing that minor discrepancies in witness statements do not automatically undermine a criminal case.

The case relates to an attack on the house of Rashid Bohra on the evening of July 27, 2005, when Sharief and another militant, identified as Shabir Ahmed, allegedly entered the house and opened indiscriminate fire. Three family members, including Bohra’s five-month-old grandson, were killed, while Bohra and his daughter-in-law sustained serious injuries, The Indian Express reported.

Sharief was arrested in 2019, while Ahmed, who was never apprehended, died in 2006.

Principal Sessions Judge Ajay Kumar Gupta sentenced Sharief to life imprisonment for murder and another life term for criminal conspiracy to commit an offence against the state. He was also awarded 10 years of rigorous imprisonment for attempted murder and an additional 10 years under the Arms Act. All sentences will run concurrently.

Rejecting the defence plea seeking acquittal over alleged inconsistencies in the prosecution’s evidence, the court observed that witnesses cannot be expected to recall every detail of an incident with photographic accuracy.

The judge said discrepancies concerning the sequence of events, the precise positions of individuals or peripheral details may naturally emerge over time. Contradictions concerning the core incident, the identity of the assailants or the presence of witnesses, however, may have a greater bearing on credibility.

The court also dismissed objections over delays of one to four months in recording statements of two injured eyewitnesses, Abdul Rashid and Mashooma Begum, under Section 161 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.

It noted that the delay was adequately explained by the severity of their injuries and the medical treatment they required following the attack.

According to the court, Rashid sustained six bullet injuries from an AK-47 rifle and was unable to speak when neighbours found him and arranged his transfer to Jammu for emergency treatment. He remained unconscious for seven days.

Mashooma Begum had suffered around 15 to 16 bullet injuries and lost consciousness at the scene. She was also taken to Jammu for treatment and regained consciousness after approximately a week, the court observed.

The judge said the physical and psychological trauma experienced by the injured survivors had to be considered while assessing the timing of their statements.

The court rejected the argument that delayed statements necessarily indicated that the witnesses had withheld the accused’s identities or subsequently introduced their names into the case.

It further observed that Mashooma’s testimony required particular consideration given the circumstances she had endured, including witnessing the deaths of her mother-in-law, sister-in-law and young child during the attack.