Rubaiya Sayeed, daughter of former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad, was kidnapped by separatist Yasin Malik. Rubaiya, in her testimony before the special court on Friday, identified three terrorists, including Yasin Malik, who had abducted her.
Rubaiya appeared before the special CBI court on Friday. This is the first time that Rubaiya has been asked to appear in the case. Rubaiya Sayeed currently lives in Tamil Nadu. She was kidnapped on 8 December 1989. On December 13, the government had to release five terrorists in exchange for her release. At that time Mufti Mohammad Sayeed was the Home Minister of India. The CBI took over the investigation of the case in the early 1990s.
Rubaiya’s lawyer Anil Sethi told that she stands by her earlier statement before the CBI. She identified Yasin Malik and three others on the basis of photographs provided during the CBI investigation. The court framed charges against Malik and nine others in January last year, more than 31 years after the kidnapping.
Next hearing will be on August 23
According to Sethi, the next date of hearing has been fixed for August 23. Rubaiya will also be present on the next date. Yasin Malik has demanded to take himself personally to Jammu for cross-examination. However, it is not known whether Yasin will be brought to Jammu or not.