Yasin Malik Threatens Hunger Strike If His Demand For Physical Appearance, Examining Witnesses Himself Is Not Permitted

Chief of banned JKLF Yasin Malik today requested a special court in Jammu for physical appearance in the case related to the kidnapping of former Chief Minister Mufti Mohammed Sayeed's daughter Rubaiya, failing which he would sit on an indefinite hunger strike.

Malik, who is undergoing a life sentence in a terror-funding case, appeared before the Court through video conference. Malik said that he has written to the government for a physical appearance before the Court.

He also informed the Court that he has requested for cross-examination of witnesses himself and said he would sit on hunger strike 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 government 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.  

With PTI inputs