Srinagar, Feb 1: With two more witnesses on Friday deposing before the General Security Forces Court (GSFC) of BSF in Zahid Farooq killing case, 31 witnesses have recorded statements before the court so far.
The witnesses have recorded the statements during the proceedings before the presiding officer of GSFC at BSF headquarters Panthachowk.
 A student of 11th class, Zahid (17) was killed near his residence at Nishat during 2010 unrest.
BSF commandant RK Birdi and his sub-ordinate Lakhwinder Kumar are the accused in the killing of the 17-year-old student.
The GSFC took over the case after Jammu and Kashmir High Court on October 21 last year dismissed the Criminal Revision Petitions filed by Zahid Farooq’s uncle, Ghulam Muhammad Sheikh and the state separately against the trial court order that the accused were on active duty when Zahid was killed and  they would be tried in Security Forces Court.
 The petitioners had challenged the order of CJM Srinagar on the grounds that the accused were not discharging an active duty and they could not be tried in the Security Forces Court as the alleged offences were civil and the accused could be tried in ordinary criminal courts. 
 The High Court had observed that the case not covered by rule 42 of the Border Security Force Act, saying the decision taken by the DIG BSF to demand custody of the accused, who were on active duty at the time of the commission of the offence could not be faulted.
The Supreme Court has recently reserved decision on the Special Leave Petition (SLP) filed by Zahid Farooq’s uncle, Ghulam Muhammad Sheikh, against the order of Jammu and Kashmir High Court.

Lastupdate on : Fri, 1 Feb 2013 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Fri, 1 Feb 2013 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Sat, 2 Feb 2013 00:00:00 IST