Killing of IAF officers: Yasin Malik identified as shooter by eyewitness [details]

Worries ahead for the jailed chairman of the banned Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) Mohammad Yasin Malik, as one of the eyewitnesses has identified him as a shooter in the killing of four unarmed officers of the Indian Air Force in 1990.

Reports said that Rajwar Umeshwar Singh, a former IAF staffer and a witness for the prosecution, identified Malik, who was produced before the court through video from Delhi's Tihar Jail where he has been imprisoned for the last few years.

"During the hearing today, one of the eyewitnesses, who is an ex-Indian Air Force man has identified Yasin Malik as one of the shooters who fired upon unarmed IAF officers in 1990 in Srinagar," Monika Kohli, Senior Public Prosecutor for CBI Monika Kohli told International Bussiness Times.

Kohli said that 56 witnesses have been listed for this case, and a number of these witnesses have already given their statements before the Court.

Yasin Malik already sentenced to life imprisonment in terror funding case

In 2022, a special NIA Court awarded life imprisonment and a fine to the tune of Rs 10 lakh to Yasin Malik in a terror funding case. Malik had earlier pleaded guilty to all the charges, including those under the stringent Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA).

On March 7, 2019, Yasin Malik was arrested by the Jammu and Kashmir Police but on April 10, 2019, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) took custody of Yasin Malik in connection with a case related to the funding of terror and separatist groups in Jammu and Kashmir. He was also charged with fomenting unrest in Kashmir during separatist agitations in 2010 and 2016.

Yasin Malik already chargesheeted in Rubaiya Sayeed's kidnapping case

Serving life imprisonment in Delhi's Tihar Jail, Yasin Malik is already chargesheeted in Rubaiya Sayeed's kidnapping case. Dr. Rubaiya Sayeed, daughter of the then Union Home Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, was kidnapped by JKLF terrorists on December 8, 1989.

On July 15, 2022, the statement of Rubaiya Sayeed was recorded in the CBI-designated Court and she has identified four accused. After her statement was recorded, the Court fixed August 23 as the next date of the hearing and asked her to personally appear during the hearing.

During her appearance in the special CBI Court on July 15, 2022, Rubaiya Sayeed identified Yasin Malik, and three of his associates as her kidnappers.

Rubaiya Sayeed identified the prime accused Yasin Malik and three others involved in the high-profile abduction case.

Rubaiya identified the then JKLF terrorist Yasin Malik and three others including Merajuddin Sheikh, Manzoor Ahmad Sofi, and Mohammad Zaman Mir, as the accused who had allegedly spotted, followed and kidnapped her from outside Srinagar's major maternity hospital, Lal Ded Hospital, when she worked there as a doctor.

Timeline of case related to the killings of four IAF officers

1. Four Indian Air Force (IAF) personnel, including Ravi Khanna, were killed in a terror attack on January 25, 1990, in which JKLF chief Yasin Malik was involved.
2. The charges were brought against Malik and six others on March 16, 2020, in the killing of four IAF personnel on the outskirts of Srinagar on January 25, 1990.
3. Besides Malik, others accused charged in the killing of IAF personnel are Ali Mohammed Mir, Manzoor Ahmed Sofi alias Mustafa, Javed Ahmed Mir alias 'Nalka', Showkat Ahmed Bakshi, Javed Ahmed Zargar, and Nanaji.
4. After a three-decade trial in both the cases was resumed on September 11, 2019.
5. On March 7, 2019, Malik was booked under the Public Safety Act (PSA) and was brought to Jammu from Srinagar and was shifted to Kot Bhawal Jail.
6. After booking Malik under PSA, his organization JKLF was banned by the Centre under anti-terror law. Within days of banning his organization, Malik was shifted from Jammu to Tihar Jail.
7. Malik was charge-sheeted by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) before the TADA court in Jammu on August 31, 1990, in connection with the case.
8. April 26, 2019, the J&K High Court rejected two petitions of Yasin Malik to shift cases registered him from TADA Court Jammu to TADA Court Srinagar.
9. The TADA had allowed the appearance of Yasin Malik through video conferencing as Tihar Jail authorities had refused to present Malik in person due to instructions from the Ministry of Home Affairs.