A sessions court in Srinagar on Tuesday adjourned hearing on a plea against former terrorist Farooq Ahmed Dar alias Bitta Karate in the alleged murder of Kashmiri Pandit Satish Tikku. The reason for adjourning the petition is not to provide security for the petitioner’s lawyer to be brought from Srinagar airport to the court. Advocate Utsav Bains, fighting the case on behalf of the family of late Satish Tikku, alleged that the Jammu and Kashmir Police did not provide them security despite the Supreme Court order. So he returned to Delhi from Srinagar International Airport.
The matter was to be heard in the court of First Additional Sessions Judge Srinagar on Tuesday. Advocate Utsav Bains, who arrived in Srinagar from Delhi to appear in the court on behalf of the victim’s family, sought adjournment of the hearing citing security reasons. He claimed in a letter to the First Additional Sessions Judge-Srinagar that he had to return to Delhi from the Srinagar airport due to non-provided security.
The Supreme Court has ordered to provide security in Srinagar to advocate Utsav Bains, who filed the petition on behalf of the Tikku family. The lawyer said that the Jammu and Kashmir Police did not comply with the order of the Supreme Court. When he reached Srinagar International Airport and was ready to go to court, no security arrangements were made to take him forward. Unfortunately he had to return to Delhi after landing at Srinagar airport at 9 am today. Through a letter, he requested the court to adjourn today’s hearing.
The trial proceedings against the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front Commander began almost 31 years after a petition was filed by the victim’s family of Satish Tikku. Advocate Utsav Bains had filed an application on behalf of the family of Late Satish Kumar Tikku in the Srinagar Sessions Court seeking status report of all the cases registered against Farooq Ahmed Dar alias Bitta Karate. Although Bitta Karate has already been granted bail by the Supreme Court.