About 34 years after his brutal killing at the hands of the terrorists in a broad day light in Srinagar Kashmir, Jammu and Kashmir Police’s State Investigation Agency (SIA) is now searching for his murderers. The Agency   has sought public assistance to investigate murder case of famed judge Neelkanth Ganjoo, whose body had remained unattended for hours together after his assassination on November 4, 1989.
The SIA on August 7, 2023  through a communiqué, appealed all persons familiar with facts or circumstances of Neelkanth Ganjoo murder case to come forward and share any account of events which has direct or indirect bearing on the investigation of the instant case in order to unearth the “larger criminal conspiracy into the matter’’.
 The communique said that the identity of all such persons shall be kept completely hidden and protected besides all useful and relevant information shall be suitably rewarded. Public has been asked to contact on 8899004976 or on email: sspsia-kmr@jkpolice.gov.in for having any information regarding this murder case

Judge Ganjoo had survived many death attempts

The gruesome incident had happened at Hari Singh High Street Srinagar, when the retired Judge (72) was coming out of a bank branch—- according to the news reports carried by newspapers that year. Kashmir Rechords is in possession of one such news item and has reproduced a news item from its archives. Earlier several attempts had been made on the life of Mr Ganjoo at his Karan Nagar, Srinagar residence ever since he had pronounced death sentence upon Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front leader, Maqbool Butt. Newspaper reports (in possession with www.kashmir-rechords.com) say that terrorists had earlier made at least six such vain attempts to liquidate him. Despite on the hit list, he was denied any security, so much so that threat perception on his life was not taken seriously.

As the terrorists succeeded in their nefarious designs on the fateful day of November 4, 1989, the vehicular traffic had  remained disrupted for a moment and later the same was resumed and shops reopened in Hari Singh High Street  with no-body daring to even cover the body of the deceased for hours together!

Circumstances behind murder of Judge Neelkanth Ganjoo

Between 1966 to 1968, Judge Ganjoo had presided over the trial of Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) co-founder Maqbool Butt as a session’s court judge. In August 1968, he had sentenced Maqbool Butt to death for the murder of a police constable Amar Chand in 1966.Neelkanth Ganjoo, a Kashmiri Pandit, lost his life for the reason that he had delivered the judgment, which was a pre-requisite for any bold Judge like him.