A special TADA court in Jammu on Tuesday ordered the release of Shafat Ahmed Shangloo, a man arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) as an alleged accomplice of jailed Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) chief Yasin Malik in the high-profile 1989 abduction case of Dr. Rubaiya Sayeed.
Court Rejects CBI Custody Plea
The court of the 3rd additional district and sessions judge, Madan Lal, denied the CBI's request for Shangloo's remand. The judge based this decision on a critical omission: Shangloo's name was not mentioned in the charge sheet filed by the investigating agency in the case related to the banned separatist outfit, JKLF.
This development came just a day after the CBI announced Shangloo's arrest, describing it as a major breakthrough in its 35-year-long investigation. The agency had labeled him an "absconder" and placed a bounty of Rs 10 lakh on his head.
The 1989 Abduction and Allegations
According to the CBI's case, Shangloo allegedly conspired with Yasin Malik and others to kidnap Dr. Rubaiya Sayeed, the daughter of the then Union Home Minister, Mufti Mohammad Sayeed. On December 8, 1989, she was abducted near her home in Nowgam, Jammu and Kashmir, while returning by bus from Lal Ded Memorial Hospital, where she worked as a medical intern.
The kidnappers reportedly bargained her freedom for the release of five jailed associates of the JKLF. Rubaiya Sayeed, who now resides in Tamil Nadu, identified Yasin Malik as one of her captors during a court hearing on July 15, 2022. Her testimony was corroborated by another witness in February 2023.
Ongoing Trials and Wider Context
Yasin Malik, currently serving a life sentence in Delhi's Tihar Jail in a separate terror funding case, is being tried in the Rubaiya Sayeed abduction case. He is also facing trial for a 1990 terrorist attack in Srinagar that resulted in the death of four unarmed Indian Air Force personnel and injuries to 22 others. The proceedings for both cases are being conducted in the Jammu TADA court.
The court's decision to release Shangloo highlights a significant procedural hurdle for the CBI in this decades-old investigation. The agency now faces the challenge of legally substantiating its claims against Shangloo to secure his custody or include him formally in the ongoing trial.
