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Yasin Malik seeks physical appearance in TADA Court
On January 11, 2021, over 30 years after the kidnapping, the TADA Court had ordered that the charges be framed against Yasin Malik and nine others
Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) founder-turned-separatist Yasin Malik, who is serving a life sentence in a terror funding case, on Wednesday requested that he be allowed to physically appear before the TADA Court for the hearing of two cases – the abduction of Rubaiya Sayeed and the killing of four Indian Air Force officials.
The special public prosecutor at the TADA (Terrorist and Disruptive Activities) Court advocate Monika Kohli said, “Malik has written to the government seeking personal hearing in cases involving him.”
On Wednesday, Malik had appeared for the hearing of the case pertaining to the killing of the officers through videoconferencing. “We examined two witnesses. Now, the next date of hearing is August 22. Malik has requested personal hearing on the next date,” she said.
The hearing of the Rubaiya Sayeed kidnapping case will take place on July 14 and 15. “We cannot say whether he will appear in-person or via virtual or in-person mode,” she said, though the hearing is slated to take place online.
On May 27, the TADA Court had summoned Rubaiya Sayeed – the daughter of then home minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, who was kidnapped by the Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front on December 8,1989 – in person. Rubaiya, who stays in Tamil Nadu,is listed as a prosecution witness by the CBI, which took over the investigation in the early 1990s.
The militants had demanded the release of five arrested militants in return for Rubaiya’s release and the government had conceded their demand. Rubaiya Sayeed was eventually released December 13, 1989.
On January 11, 2021, over 30 years after the kidnapping, the TADA Court had ordered that the charges be framed against Yasin Malik and nine others – 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.
The same TADA court in March 2020 had 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. Squadron leader Khanna was among four Indian Air Force officials shot dead by car-borne militants of the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front, allegedly including Yasin Malik, on the outskirts of Srinagar in January 1990.
