A former Indian Air Force (IAF) staffer, also an eyewitness in the 1990 attack that left four IAF officials dead in Srinagar’s Rawalpora, on Thursday identified Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) chief Yasin Malik as the shooter in his statement made before a special court in Jammu.
“The prime eyewitness, who sustained four bullet injuries himself [in the attack], categorically and specifically identified Malik as one who opened the fire [at the IAF officials]. This is an important development in the case,” Monika Kohli, Chief Prosecutor, Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), told The Hindu.
The eyewitness, identified as R. Rajeshwar Singh, then a staffer with the IAF, told the court he “didn’t know other [attackers] as he was injured in the firing”.
The prosecution is likely to seek the death penalty in the case on the basis of fresh statements made by the eyewitness. “The IAF official was one of the key eyewitnesses in the case. There are a total of 56 witnesses in the case and need to be examined,” Ms. Kohli said.
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Four IAF officials, including Squadron Leader Ravi Khanna, were killed in the attack on January 25, 1990 in Srinagar’s Rawalpora. The CBI had filed its first charge-sheet in 1990 but the case was granted a prolonged stay on its trial, which was vacated in 2020.
Malik appeared before a special Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (TADA) court in Jammu through virtual mode. Officials said Malik refused to cross question the witness and insisted that he should be allowed to represent by physical appearance in the case.
Jatinder Singh Jamwal, presiding officer of the TADA court, after hearing both the sides, fixed February 15 and 16, 2024 as the next date of hearing.
In 2020, the TADA court framed charges against separatist Malik and six others in the 30-year-old militant attack case. According to the CBI, another accused, Showkat Ahmed Bakshi, met Amanullah Khan in 1989 across the border and “hatched a criminal conspiracy” to attack the security forces, including IAF officials stationed at Srinagar “to create terror”.
The CBI said Mr. Bakshi entered into a criminal conspiracy with accused Malik and others for “executing the task”. “At around 7.30 a.m., accused Yasin Malik and Javed Ahmed Mir alias Nalka, each armed himself with Kalashnikov rifles, boarded as pillion riders on a motorcycle. Driven by the accused, Mushtaq Ahmed Lone, who was armed with a .30-bore pistol and proceeded towards the pickup points of IAF personnel located near and around Rawalpora,” the CBI said in the charge-sheet. A group of 10 to 15 IAF officials standing on Sannat Nagar- Rawalpora road came under attack.
Malik is also facing a trial in the 1989 kidnapping of Rubaiya Sayeed, daughter of former Union Home Minister Mufti Muhammad Sayeed.
Malik was arrested in 2019 and his outfit was banned by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). In 2022, Malik was convicted by a special Delhi court in a terror financing case and awarded two life sentences and five punishments of 10 years of rigorous imprisonment each. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) had demanded the death penalty in the case.
