“Too little too late” say Judge Ganjoo’s family as J-K Police reopens 1989 murder case

Mumbai (Maharashtra)/ Srinagar (Jammu and Kashmir) [India], August 8 (ANI): After a fresh probe was initiated into the 1989 murder case of Kashmiri Pandit judge Neelkanth Ganjoo, his family has said that it is “a little too late” and they don’t want “wounds to be scraped again.”

On Monday, the State Investigation Agency (SIA) in Jammu and Kashmir initiated a fresh investigation into the 1989 murder of retired judge Neelkanth Ganjoo, marking a significant step towards seeking justice for the long-standing case.

"It's too little too late after 34 years of the incident. Now we don't want our wounds to be scraped again," SK Ganjoo, the son of the slain former judge told ANI. 

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Meanwhile, Ganjoo's granddaughter has said that the reopening of the over three decades old case brings a "ray of hope".

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"Indian government's decision to revisit the 1989-90 Kashmiri Hindu genocide cases after 34 yrs, evokes a mixed of emotions for me. Among these cases, the first one to be reopened is of my beloved grandfather Justice Neelkanth Ganjoo. Who fell victim to JKLF terrorists on Nov 4, 1989. This decision has reignited in me a sense of optimism for my community as well. This optimism had rained over the past thirty-three years as we longed for people to finally hear, acknowledge, empathise and grasp the ordeal that we Kashmiri Hindus have gone through," she said. 

"Despite the pain of reopening of old wounds, the underline hope remains that justice will prevail. It's about time that the world paid attention to the atrocities committed on Kashmir Hindus, on individuals and on a community at large categorising it as genocide," she added. 

The granddaughter of the former slain judge added that they have waited too long for justice to be served.

"I sincerely hope that the reopening of Justice Neelkanth Ganjoo's case will be one of the hundreds of cases that will follow and will bring some sense of relief and enclosure for the families, who are waiting for justice to be served. I thank the government of India for this decision and wait to see what it brings for us. It definitely does bring a ray of hope," she said in a personalised video message. 

Apart from it, former Jammu and Kashmir Deputy Chief Minister, Kavinder Gupta, has welcomed the probe, stating, "It is good that he (Neelkanth Ganjoo) will get justice. The BJP government had already said that such things should be investigated. This was a conspiracy... The people should cooperate in this so that the conspiracy can be exposed... I appreciate the move."

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Reacting to the reopening of the probe into the over three-decades case, Kashmiri Pandit writer and political activist Agnishekar said, "Genocide has happened to Kashmiri Pandits. This is one big thing, justice should be done for Neelkanth Ganjoo, who was reportedly killed by Yasin Malik, leader of Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF).

“For 34 years, we have been talking about investigation a probe a SIT. 1500 Kashmiri Pandits have been killed. Now we welcome this news of investigation after 34 years.”

“It was a selective killing, kill one and scare ten. Neelkanth Ganjoo was a reputed personality," Agnishekhar said.

The SIT of Jammu and Kashmir Police has appealed to the public to come forward and share accounts of events to unearth the larger conspiracy behind the murder.

The incident occurred over 30 years ago, when Ganjoo, a Sessions and District Court judge, was shot dead by militants in Srinagar on November 4, 1989.

Three militants surrounded Ganjoo as he was in the Hari Singh Street market and shot him dead near the Srinagar High Court.(ANI)