Wrongly Convicted Database Record

 

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Mushtaq Ahmad Malla

 

Charge:

Murder

Sentence:

Life Imprisonment

Years Imprisoned:

Year Crime:

2006

Year Convicted:

Year Cleared:

2017

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

India

County or Region of Crime:

Kashmir

City of Crime:

Budhbugh

Result:

Judicially Exonerated Released

Summary of Case:

"Shabir Ahmad Bhat and Mushtaq Ahmad Malla were wrongly convicted of murder in the death of a police officer in the village of Budhbugh, Kashmir, India on September 8, 2006. Their prosecution's were based on eyewitness identifications that they were two of the three men involved. They denied involvment in the crime and presented four alibi witnesses to establish they were elsewhere at the time it occurred. After Shabir Bhat and Mushtaq Malla were convicted they were sentenced to life in prison. They appealed. On May 16, 2017 the Jammu and Kashmir High Court set-aside their convictions on the basis the identifications of the men were unreliable because the witnesses had given inconsistent recorded statements, the police had attempted to manufacture evidence against the men, and one of the investigating officers in his statement made it clear that “he cannot say as to whether the accused persons were involved in the occurrence." The High Court criticized the deficient police investigation and stated: "Investigating Officers shall bear it in mind that when they are entrusted with investigation of a case, they have to separate grain from the chaff and to see that the actual criminals are brought to book." The reasoning of the High Court's ruling applied equally to the third defendant in the case, but that defendant wasn't a part of the appeal, so he could separately file an appeal to be acquitted and have his conviction set-aside."

Conviction Caused By:

Unreliable identification and police misconduct of trying to manufacture evidence against the defendants.

Innocence Proved By:

"On May 16, 2017 the Jammu and Kashmir High Court set-aside their convictions on the basis the identifications of the men were unreliable because the witnesses had given inconsistent recorded statements, the police had attempted to manufacture evidence against the men, and one of the investigating officers in his statement made it clear that “he cannot say as to whether the accused persons were involved in the occurrence." The High Court criticized the deficient police investigation and stated: "Investigating Officers shall bear it in mind that when they are entrusted with investigation of a case, they have to separate grain from the chaff and to see that the actual criminals are brought to book.""

Defendant Aided By:

Compensation Awarded:

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Age When Imprisoned:

Age When Released:

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

Information Source 1:

"Cop Killing Case: HC sets aside life sentence of duo: Directs DGP to entrust murder probes to skilled Ios, By D. A. Rashid, GreaterKashmir.com, May 21 2017"

Information Location 1:

http://www.greaterkashmir.com/news/front-page/cop-killing-case-hc-sets-aside-life-sentence-of-duo/249942.html

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Innocents Database Created and Maintained by Hans Sherrer innocents@forejustice.org

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