Three Decades After 1996 Naaz Crossing Violence, Srinagar Police Arrest Separatist Leader Shakeel Bakshi

New Delhi: In a dramatic turn to a case that has remained unresolved for almost thirty years, Srinagar Police on Monday arrested separatist leader Shakeel Ahmad Bakshi after he surrendered before the National Investigation Agency (NIA) court in Srinagar.

Officials said Bakshi was taken into custody in connection with FIR No. 192/1996, which stems from a violent procession in July 1996 when a mob carrying the body of slain terrorist Hilal Ahmad Beigh clashed with police at Naaz Crossing in Srinagar.

The case, registered under the Ranbir Penal Code, UAPA and Arms Act, dates back to July 17, 1996, when a massive crowd led by separatist leaders carried the body of terrorist Hilal Beigh. At Naaz Crossing, the procession turned violent with stone-pelting, anti-national slogans, and gunfire directed at security forces. Though no casualties occurred, the incident became one of the most volatile episodes of the 1990s.

Investigators named separatist leaders, including Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Shakeel Ahmad Bakshi, Mohammad Yaqoob Wakeel, Javid Ahmad Mir, Abdul Gani Lone, Shabir Shah and Nayeem Ahmad Khan, for instigating the 1996 mob.

Over the years, Hurriyat Hawk  Geelani, Lone and Wakeel passed away, while Shabir Shah and Nayeem Khan remain lodged in Tihar Jail in separate NIA cases.

Officials said the arrest is expected to give fresh momentum to a case that has remained open for nearly three decades, symbolizing the Modi government’s resolve to bring closure to incidents that shaped the turbulent history of the Valley in the 1990s.

Shakeel Ahmad Bakshi, the supremo of the Islamic Students League (ISL)—briefly aligned with the Hurriyat Conference in the mid-1990s- was long associated with student mobilization, protests, and frequent clashes with authorities in Srinagar. In 2011, he was arrested from his Batamaloo office under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in connection with a 2009 case, and has since faced multiple detentions, including those tied to cases dating back to the 1990s. In July 2019, Bakshi narrowly escaped an assassination attempt when unidentified gunmen fired at his Bemina residence, leaving him unharmed.