The Union Ministry of Home Affairs has appointed Delhi-based criminal lawyer Shri Singh as the Special Public Prosecutor (SPP) to conduct the trial in the Pahalgam terror attack case.
As per the notification dated October 28, Singh will represent the National Investigation Agency (NIA) before the NIA Special Court, Jammu and the High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh for a period of three years or until completion of the trial, whichever is earlier.A Jammu court had granted the NIA a 45-day extension on September 18 to complete the investigation. That period ends this week, with the chargesheet to be likely filed soon.
The brutal attack at Baisaran meadow, Pahalgam on April 22 claimed the lives of 25 tourists and a pony operator, marking one of the most shocking terror incidents in J&K in recent years.According to an official notification issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), Advocate Shri Singh has been appointed as the Special Public Prosecutor (SPP) for the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack case. He will represent the National Investigation Agency (NIA) before the Special NIA Court in Jammu and the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.
The appointment will remain valid for three years or until the completion of the trial — whichever is earlier. The order has been issued under Section 15(1) of the NIA Act, 2008, and Section 18(8) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023.Officials said the move is aimed at ensuring speedy and effective prosecution in one of the most brutal terror incidents in recent years, in which 26 civilians, mostly tourists, were killed and 16 others injured.
The attack was carried out by three Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists—Suleiman Shah alias Asif, Hamza Afghani alias Afghan, and Jibran—who were later neutralised in ‘Operation Mahadev’ in the Harwan forest area on July 28.Following the attack, the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) reviewed the security situation and cleared ‘Operation Sindoor’, a major counter-terror initiative to dismantle cross-border terror infrastructure.
The NIA took over the probe from the J&K Police on April 27 and has since arrested two locals—Parvaiz Ahmad Jothar and Bashir Ahmad Jothar—for allegedly providing shelter to the attackers.
Follow us
