[2] On 5 December 1992, Hriday Nath Wanchoo was assassinated by gunmen at Balgarden in Srinagar; renowned for documenting abuse of human rights by the state, he was among the rare Pandit secessionists and one of the two Hindu ministers in the "government in-absentia" run by Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front.
[7] Initial media narrative centered on how the local administration had released two militants in exchange for murdering Wanchoo, one of whom (Zulkar Nan) would be killed in an encounter.
[12] By the time, the investigation concluded, four of the accused had died and five had absconded, leaving only three — Faktoo himself, Mohammad Shafi Khan,[a] and Ghulam Qadir Bhat[b] — for the trial under Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act (TADA) before a special court in Jammu.
[11] Faktoo secured bail from the Jammu and Kashmir High Court in 1999; however, he was arrested in Delhi, upon arrival from London, on charges of carrying RDX and incarcerated.
[5] In media interviews, Faktoo claims to have declined multiple release-offers from the Government of India that were conditional on his renouncement of the separatist cause and contesting in local polls.