The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has chargesheeted six senior leaders of the separatist Hurriyat Conference, including Shabir Ahmad Shah, in connection with a 1996 case involving mob violence and indiscriminate firing on police personnel in Srinagar.
The chargesheet, filed on Friday before the NIA Special Court in Jammu, names Kashmiri separatist leaders Shabir Ahmad Shah, Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Abdul Ganie Lone, Mohd Yaqoob Wakeel alias Mohd Yaqoob Vakil, Javid Ahmad Mir and Shakeel Ahmad Bakshi. All six have been charged under relevant provisions of the Ranbir Penal Code for criminal conspiracy, attempt to murder, rioting and assault on public servants, as well as under Section 13 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967.
The proceedings against Geelani, Lone and Vakil have abated following their deaths. However, the chargesheet details their alleged roles in the criminal conspiracy and the unlawful assembly, supported by evidence gathered during the investigation.
According to the NIA, all six accused led an unlawful assembly and instigated large-scale violence against police personnel during the funeral procession of slain terrorist Hilal Ahmad Beigh at Naaz Crossing in Srinagar on July 17, 1996.
The agency alleged that armed terrorists mingled with the procession, which was jointly led by the accused Hurriyat leaders, and opened indiscriminate fire on police personnel during the violence, injuring several officers. Government vehicles were also extensively damaged after they were pelted with stones.
The NIA said its investigation found that the chargesheeted leaders actively incited violence by raising anti-India, pro-Pakistan and secessionist slogans. They also allegedly delivered inflammatory speeches advocating armed struggle.
The agency stated that its investigation established that the violence was part of a larger, pre-planned conspiracy by the Hurriyat leadership to use the funeral procession as a platform to propagate separatist ideology, mobilise public support against the Government of India, provoke public disorder and incite violence against law enforcement agencies, while demonstrating the organisation’s strength in Jammu and Kashmir.
An FIR was initially registered at Shergarhi Police Station in Srinagar on the day of the incident. The NIA took over the investigation in April 2026 on the directions of the Union Ministry of Home Affairs.