Court allows BSF to try its 2 personnel for teenager killing

A local court here has allowed the BSF to try two of its personnel, including a commandant, accused of killing a teenager in unprovoked firing in Nishat area of the city in 2010 in a General Security Forces Court (GSFC).
Chief Judicial Magistrate Srinagar R Gupta yesterday allowed the BSF plea for trying then Commandant R K Birdhi and Constable Lakhvinder Kumar in a GSFC on the charges of killing Zahid Farooq at Nishat on February 5, 2010.
Birdhi, who was the Commandant of 68 battalion BSF, and Kumar are presently in BSF custody.
The Supreme Court on April 25 had disallowed the trial of Birdhi and Kumar in a GSFC. However, the apex court had granted eight weeks' time to the Director General of BSF for moving a fresh application before the CJM Srinagar for exercising the option of trial in a GSFC of he deemed the case fit for it.

The BSF did not move the court till the expiry of the time granted by the Supreme Court and transmitted all the records related to the case back to CJM court.
However, on August 3, BSF moved an application before CJM Srinagar choosing option of trial in a GSFC.