Rubaiya Sayeed, the daughter of former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, on Friday identified separatist leader Yasin Malik and three others as her abductors before a special Central Bureau of Investigation court, reported PTI.
This is the first time Rubaiya Sayeed, the sister of Peoples Democratic Party chief Mehbooba Mufti, was asked to appear before the court in the 1989 case.
In 1989, Sayeed was freed in exchange for the release of five members of the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front by the Indian government. A chargesheet was filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation in September 1990 before the designated Terrorist and Disruptive Activities Act court in Jammu.
Twenty-two accused persons were named in the chargesheet, including Malik, the leader of the banned outfit.
Sayeed, who currently stays in Tamil Nadu, is named as a prosecution witness by the Central Bureau of Investigation in the case.
After Friday’s hearing, Advocate Anil Sethi told ANI that Sayeed was able to identify her alleged abductors on the basis of photographs presented to her.
“The next date of hearing is August 23,” said Sethi, who represents Sayeed. “She has been asked to come [for the next hearing]. Yasin Malik was saying that he be brought to Jammu personally for cross-examination. It depends on whether he is brought to Jammu on the next date.”
Malik is already serving a life sentence in a terror funding case. On Wednesday, Malik had requested a special court in Jammu that he be allowed to physically appear before it in Sayeed’s abduction case. He added that he would go on an indefinite hunger strike from July 22 if his application was rejected.
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