In Rubaiya Sayeed case, Yasin Malik seeks nod to cross-question witnesses

Jammu, July 13

Yasin Malik, chief of the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF), on Wednesday informed a court of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) that he himself wanted to cross-question the witnesses in the 1989 Rubaiya Sayeed kidnapping case in a physical hearing, else he would observe hunger strike in prison, officials said.

They said Malik appeared before the court through videoconferencing and said that he had written to the government for a physical appearance. The chief of the banned JKLF outfit, who is undergoing a life sentence in a terror-funding case, also informed the court that he had requested for cross-examination of witnesses himself and would sit on a hunger strike if his plea was not accepted by the government.

Malik told the court that he would await response from the government till July 22 failing which he would start his indefinite hunger strike, officials said.

The JKLF chief is lodged in the high-security Tihar Jail after he was sentenced by a special NIA court in Delhi in May. He was arrested in early 2019 in connection with the 2017 terror-funding case registered by the National Investigation Agency (NIA).

The present case relates to the kidnapping of Rubaiya Sayeed, daughter of former J&K Chief Minister Mufti Mohammed Sayeed, by the JKLF on December 8, 1989. She was freed five days later on December 13 after the then VP Singh government at the Centre, supported by the BJP, released five JKLF terrorists.

The case had gone into virtual cold storage and was revived after Malik was picked up by the NIA in 2019.

In January last year, the CBI, with help from special public prosecutors Monika Kohli and SK Bhat, framed charges against 10 people, including Malik, in the Rubaiya kidnapping case that turned out to be a turning point in the Valley’s volatile history. After the release of the five JKLF members, terror groups started raising their heads. Rubaiya was kidnapped by members of JKLF members from Srinagar to ensure the release of their associates lodged in different jails. Others charged in the case are Ali Mohammed Mir, Mohammed Zaman Mir, Iqbal Ahmad Gandroo, Javed Ahmad Mir, Mohammed Rafiq Pahloo, Manzoor Ahmed Sofi, Wajahat Bashir, Mehraj-ud-Din Sheikh and Showkat Ahmad Bakshi.

During the investigation, accused Ali Mohammed Mir, Zaman Mir and Iqbal Gandroo voluntarily confessed before a magistrate about their and others’ role, including that of Malik, in the Rubaiya kidnapping case. Besides, four others made confessional statements before a CBI’s Superintendent of Police.

“The accused persons, besides admitting their own guilt, have also narrated about the participation of other persons, namely Malik, Javed Ahmad Mir and Mehraj-ud-Din Sheikh, which can also be used against them as one of the pieces of evidence,” the court had said in January last year.

The 10 are among the two dozen accused named by the CBI in its charge sheet. Among the others, top JKLF commanders Mohammad Rafiq Dar and Mushtaq Ahmad Lone are dead and 12 are absconding. They are Halima, Javed Iqbal Mir, Mohammad Yaqub Pandit, Riyaz Ahmad Bhat, Khursheed Ahmad Dar, Basharat Rehman Noori, Tariq Ashraf, Shafat Ahmad Shangloo, Manzoor Ahmad, Gulam Mohammad Taploo, Abdul Majeed Bhat and Nissar Ahmad Bhat. In March 2020, the special court had framed charges against the JKLF chief and six others in another case related to the gunning down of four IAF personnel on the outskirts of Srinagar in January 1990.— PTI

The 1989 abduction

• Rubaiya Sayeed, daughter of ex-CM Mufti Mohammed Sayeed, was kidnapped in 1989.
• She was freed after the then VP Singh-headed government released five JKLF terrorists.

Threatens to go on hunger strike in jail

• According to officials, Yasin Malik has said he will wait till July 22 for government’s response. Then he will begin a hunger strike.
• During investigation, a few accused had confessed before a magistrate about their and Malik’s role in the Rubaiya kidnapping.