Overview
- District and sessions judge Mir Wajah, sitting as the special NIA judge in Bandipora, issued the acquittals in an order passed on Wednesday.
- The accused—Abrar Gulzar Khan, Muneer Ahmad Sheikh and Mohammad Waqar Lone—were cleared of the UAPA Section 39 charge by benefit of doubt and ordered released if not required in other cases.
- The court found no evidentiary nexus tying the three to the July 8, 2020 shooting that killed BJP leader Sheikh Waseem Bari, his father Bashir Ahmad Sheikh and his brother Umar Saeed Sultan Bari.
- The decision followed testimony from 17 prosecution witnesses and was detailed in an 89-page judgment.
- Proceedings will continue against absconding accused Abid Rashid Dar and Azad Ahmad Shah, while two other alleged attackers were earlier killed in a security encounter, according to the court record.