TADA court summons Rubaiya Sayeed in her 1989 abduction case

A TADA court has summoned Rubaiya Sayeed, daughter of ex-chief minister late Mufti Mohammed Sayeed, in a case pertaining to her abduction in 1989 allegedly involving terrorist-turned-separatist Yasin Malik

A TADA Court has summoned Rubaiya Sayeed, daughter of the former home minister and ex-chief minister late Mufti Mohammed Sayeed, in a case pertaining to abduction in 1989 allegedly involving terrorist-turned-separatist Yasin Malik.

According to the CBI case, the accused had kidnapped Rubaiya Sayeed with an ulterior motive of getting five terrorists released in lieu of Rubaiya Sayeed. Yasin Malik was the one who played a key role in the entire abduction plotted and executed by him and his associates. A TADA Court has summoned Rubaiya Sayeed on July 15 at Jammu. (PTI File Photo)

Advocate Monika Kohli said, “TADA Court has summoned Rubaiya Sayeed on July 15 at Jammu in her kidnapping case involving JKLF militant-turned-separatist Yasin Malik.”

This is the first time that Rubaiya Sayeed has been asked to appear in the case.

Rubaiya, who stays in Tamil Nadu, is listed as a prosecution witness by the CBI which took over the investigations into the case in early 1990.

Rubaiya Sayeed, the daughter of then home minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, was kidnapped by the Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front on December 8, 1989. Mufti, who became the first Muslim home minister of India remained in the office from December 1989 to November 1990 in the VP Singh government. Rubaiya Sayeed was eventually released on December 13 that year.

The militants had demanded the release of five arrested militants in return for Rubaiya’s release and the government had conceded their demand.

Yasin Malik, who has recently been sentenced to life imprisonment in a terror-funding case, is an accused in the Rubaiya Sayeed kidnapping case.

On January 11, 2021, more than 30 years of infamous Rubaiya Sayeed kidnapping case, the TADA had ordered that the charges be framed against Yasin Malik and nine others.

Special Judge TADA Court had ordered that charges be framed against Yasin Malik, Ali Mohamad Mir, Mohammad Zaman Mir, Iqbal Ahmad Gandroo, Javed Ahmad Mir, Mohammad Rafiq Pahloo alias Nana Ji alia Saleem, Manzoor Ahmed Sofi, Wajahat Bashir, Mehraj-ud-Din Sheikh and Showkat Ahmad Bakshi.

According to the CBI case, the accused had kidnapped Rubaiya Sayeed with an ulterior motive of getting five terrorists released in lieu of Rubaiya Sayeed.

Yasin Malik was the one who played a key role in the entire kidnapping plotted and executed by him and his associates.

The TADA Court had then observed that sufficient grounds existed for drawing prima facie presumption that Yasin Malik, Ali Mohammad Mir, Iqbal Ahmed Gandroo, Manzoor Ahmed Sofi, Mehraj-u-Din Sheikh and Rafiq Ahmed Pahloo aka Nanaji aka Salim have committed offences under Sections 364/368 /120-B RPC, 3/4 TADA Act and 27 IA Act.

“Similarly, other accused Mohammad Zaman Mir, Javed Ahmed Mir aka Nalka, Wajahat Bashir, Showkat Ahmed Bakshi have committed offences under Sections 120-B read with Sections 368 RPC and Section 3/4 of TADA Act,” observed the court.

“Hence, charges are required to be framed against each of the accused persons, separately,” the court had stated.

It may be recalled here that TADA court in March 2020 had also framed charges against Yasin Malik and six others allegedly involved in the killing of four unarmed Indian Air Force (IAF) officials including Squadron Leader Ravi Khanna in 1990 in Kashmir.

The hearing of Ravi Khanna’s case is scheduled for July 12 and 13.