NIA arrests Kashmiri separatist leader Shabir Ahmad Shah for 1996 Srinagar violence case; sent to Jammu on 3-day remand

NEW DELHI: Kashmiri separatist leader Shabir Ahmad Shah was arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Friday in connection with a 30-year-old case linked to violence in Srinagar. He was produced before Delhi’s Patiala House court the same evening, where a special judge granted the agency three days’ transit remand to take him to Jammu for further investigation.

Special judge (NIA) Prashant Sharma allowed the NIA’s plea, directing that Shah be presented before a designated court in Jammu by noon on 20 April.

“Considering the sensitivity and nature of the offence, transit remand prayer of NIA, made in the application, is allowed. NIA, Jammu, is given a transit remand of 03 days of the accused Shabir Ahmad Shah. The Investigating Officer is directed to produce the accused before the designated NIA Special Court, Jammu, within 12.00 noon on 20.04.2026 or earlier,” the court ordered on Friday.

The NIA told the court that Shah’s custodial interrogation was necessary as the investigation remains at an early stage. It said his questioning could help uncover a larger conspiracy and identify other co-conspirators. The agency also argued that Shah needed to be taken out of Delhi as part of the probe and would subsequently be produced before a competent court to seek further custody.

The case relates to an FIR originally registered on 17 July 1996 at Shergarhi police station in Srinagar, which the NIA re-registered on 1 April 2026. According to the agency, the case concerns unlawful activities during a procession in which Hurriyat leaders, including Shah, allegedly led a mob carrying the body of slain militant Hilal Ahmad Beigh.

Investigators alleged that the procession turned violent near Naaz Crossing after police attempted to intervene. The mob is said to have engaged in stone-pelting, damaged property, disrupted traffic and raised anti-government slogans, including “Hindustan Murdabad”. The NIA further claimed that unidentified militants within the crowd opened fire on police personnel with the intent to kill, injuring members of the security forces.

During the hearing, Shah’s legal team, led by advocate M S Khan along with Prashant Prakash, Qausar Khan, Rahul Sahani and Zahbi Tihami, opposed the transit remand. The defence argued that the incident had already been examined in a separate NIA terror funding case from 2017, where the 1996 events were part of the record.

Counsel for the accused contended that reopening the case amounted to double jeopardy, stating that Shah could not be subjected to investigation for the same set of facts multiple times. They argued that such action would violate Article 20(2) of the Constitution of India and sought dismissal of the NIA’s application, while also filing a bail plea.

Shah, who has spent a total of 39 years under house arrest or in custody over various cases, had recently been granted bail by the Supreme Court in another NIA matter on 12 March 2026, followed by bail in a money laundering case on 28 March 2026.