The protest petition filed by the Tufail Matoo’s family was heard in the court of Judge Small Causes Srinagar on Saturday. Prosecuting Officer for State as well as the Counsel for the father of the victims Advocate Mian Abdul Qayoom were present.The Court heard the arguments put forth by both the learned advocates and listed the case for next hearing on 22 April next month. With the Crime Branch, Kashmir, declaring “culprits” in the 2010 killing of teenager Tufail Matoo as “untraced”, the parents of the victim had filed this protest petition before the Court for fresh investigation.Demanding reinvestigation into the seven-year-old case, Tufail’s parents in their petition sought dismissal of the crime branch closure report on the ground that the investigating officer (IO) had not factored in certain “grey areas” during the investigation before closing the matter.
The crime branch, which investigated the case on the directions of the High Court, had closed the investigation into the matter by filing a closure report before the CJM, Srinagar.In December 2012, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the J&K Police, which had first investigated the case, had also closed the investigation by declaring “culprits as untraced”.“In our protest petition, we have prayed for dismissal of Crime Branch, Kashmir, ‘closure report’ and demanded reinvestigation of the case FIR,” counsel Mian Abdul Qayoom told CNS.Pertinently, on June 11, 2010, Tufail Matoo, a teenager, was returning home after taking tuition when a teargas shell fired by the police near Gani Memorial College in the old city allegedly hit him. He was killed on the spot.Tufail’s death had triggered large-scale violence in the Valley. More than 120 persons were killed in the incidents of firing by the police and security forces for which nobody has been prosecuted so far. (CNS)