Jammu: Cross examination of prosecution witnesses in two 30-year old cases – 1989 abduction of Rubiya Sayeed, daughter of the then Union Home Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed and killing of four Indian Air Force personnel by JKLF an year later, started at the special court for TADA cases here on Saturday.
However, cross examination of Abdul Rehman Sofi, a witness in both the cases remained inconclusive as except for Saleem alias Nanaji, an accused into the killing of IAF personnel, and JKLF supremo Yasin Malik, other accused were not present in the court. Their counsels attributed their non-appearance to disturbances in Kashmir.
While Nanaji was physically present in the court, Yasin Malik participated in the proceedings through video conferencing from Delhi’s Tihar jail where he is lodged since 2019 following his arrest by NIA in a terror funding case. The latter is an accused in both the cases.
Sources said that Yasin Malik refused to take the help of any lawyer in the case and told the court that he will himself cross examine the witnesses.
The judge fixed the October 6-7 for cross examination of the witnesses.
The CBI had filed chargesheet in the killing of IAF personnel in August 1990 and the charges against Malik among seven accused were framed on March 16 last year for murder, attempt to murder and various provisions of now defunct TADA. Other co-accused in the case include Ali Mohammad Mir, Manzoor Ahmed Sofi alias Mustafa, Javed Ahmed Mir alias ‘Nalka’, Showkat Ahmed Bakshi, Javed Ahmed Zargar and Nanaji.
The court had framed charges against Yasin Malik and nine others into the abduction of Rubaiya Sayeed on January 11 this year. The other co-accused include Ali Mohammad Mir, Mohammad Zaman Mir, Iqbal Ahmad Gandroo, Javed Ahmad Mir, Mohammad Rafiq Pahloo, Manzoor Ahmed Sofi, Wajahat Bashir, Mehraj-ud-Din Sheikh and Showkat Ahmad Bakshi.
They are among over two dozen accused named by the CBI in its charge-sheet filed before the TADA court. Of the remaining accused, Mohammad Rafiq Dar and Mushtaq Ahmad Lone — both top commanders of JKLF — are dead and 12 are absconding.Those absconding include 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.