Yaseen Malik seeks physical appearance in court during trial in killing of IAF personnel

JAMMU, JULY 13: The Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front supremo Yasin Malik on Wednesday requested a special TADA court here for physical appearance in a cases related to the kidnapping of former chief minister Mufti Mohammed Sayeed’s daughter Rubaiya and the killing of four IAF personnel, failing which he would sit on an indefinite hunger strike, officials said.

Malik, who is undergoing a life sentence in a terror-funding case, appeared before the court through video conference, they said.

Malik informed the judge that he has written to the government for a physical appearance before the court. Pointing out that he has also requested for cross examination of witnesses himself, he said that he would sit on hunger strike on July 22 if his request was not accepted by the government.

The case pertains to the kidnapping of Rubaiya Sayeed on December 8, 1989. She was freed from captivity five days later on December 13 after the then V P Singh government, supported by the BJP at the Centre, released five terrorists from the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) in exchange.

The case had gone into virtual cold storage and was revived after Malik was picked up by the National Investigation Agency in 2019 on charges of terror funding.

In January last year, the CBI, with help from special public prosecutors Monika Kohli and S K 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.

Following the release of the five JKLF members, terror groups had started raising their heads. (Agencies)