Witnesses fail to appear before court in Rubaiya Sayeed abduction case

Jammu, December 14

Former Kashmir Bar Association president Mian Abdul Qayoom and two other witnesses failed to attend the special TADA court hearing on Thursday regarding the 1989 abduction of Rubaiya Sayeed.

Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) chief and separatist leader Yasin Malik and his associate Rafiq Pahloo appeared via video-conferencing. Pahloo was given the final opportunity by the court to file objections to an application seeking cancellation of his bail in connection with the killing of four Indian Air Force officers in 1990 and the abduction of Rubaiya Sayeed. Rubaiya, kidnapped in 1990, is the daughter of the then Union home minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed.

A witness, Mian Qayoom, submitted a medical certificate citing hospitalisation. An eyewitness (number 23) has died. Senior Public Prosecutor SK Bhat stated that witnesses summoned for identification couldn’t appear in the case involving the killing of IAF personnel.

The killings of four IAF personnel took place in Srinagar in 1990. The court had summoned two witnesses for identification, but they could not appear citing medical reasons, Bhat said, adding that both of them had to come from outside. The court will again start hearing regarding the IAF personnel case on January 18 and Rubaiya Sayeed case on January 19.

Pahloo, with the last opportunity to file objections to the bail cancellation application, faces allegations of violating bail conditions by engaging in separatist activities. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had sought bail cancellation, citing Pahloo’s involvement in separatist activities.

Two witnesses, numbered 24 and 25, supported the prosecution’s case in November. They identified Ali Mohammad Mir as the prime accused in the Rubaiya Sayeed abduction case. Mir allegedly transported Rubaiya Sayeed to Sopore and held her in a guesthouse. Yasin Malik, currently serving a term in the Tihar Jail, was not physically present in the court due to restrictions on his movement, imposed by the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Pahloo is lodged in the Central Jail of Srinagar following his arrest for efforts to revive terrorism in Kashmir, Bhat said. Pahloo, alias Nanaji, was among the 10 terrorists arrested in July from a hotel in a case related to a conspiracy to revive the banned JKLF and separatist amalgam Hurriyat Conference in the Valley. The special court has already framed charges separately against Malik and several others in both cases. The charges against Malik, Pahloo and eight others in the 1989 abduction case of Rubaiya Sayeed were framed by the court on January 11, 2021.

Ex-Bar assn chief cites medical reason

• Among the witnesses is former Kashmir Bar Association president Mian Abdul Qayoom, who submitted a medical certificate in the court citing hospitalisation as the reason behind his absence.
• JKLF chief Yasin Malik and his associate Rafiq Pahloo appeared via video-conferencing. Both are in jail for their role in terror activities.