Trial in killing of 4 IAF men begins next week
Besides Malik, who is at present in judicial custody after he was placed under arrest by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in connection with a terror funding case, warrants have been issued against three others.
After nearly 30 years, trial in the killing of four Indian Air Force personnel in Kashmir will begin next week as a special court has issued production warrant against Yasin Malik, the banned Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) chief and main accused in the case, officials said.
Besides Malik, who is at present in judicial custody after he was placed under arrest by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in connection with a terror funding case, warrants have been issued against three others. The officials said Malik was likely to be produced through video conferencing and requisite permission was being sought for that.
Besides the killing of Indian Air Force officers, including squadron leader Ravi Khanna, on January 25, 1990 on the outskirts of Srinagar city, Malik is also an accused in the kidnapping of the then Union home minister Mufti Mohammed Sayeed’s daughter in 1989.
“Yasin Malik, who was arrested by NIA [National Investigation Agency] in money laundering and other criminal cases is in Tihar Jail. A TADA court in Jammu has requisitioned him and other accused on September 11 to face the trial, which has been pending for the past many years,” advocate Pavittar Singh Bhardwaj, special public prosecutor of CBI, told HT over phone.
Bhardwaj also informed that a letter has been sent to Tihar Jail authorities to make transport arrangements and produce Mailk before the TADA court on September 11 in Jammu.
“It is indeed a high-profile case. Ironically, Malik and other accused were protected by those in the corridors of power for long. He enjoyed protection, free air travel, free medical treatment in private hospices and many other facilities on government money like Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani,” said Bhardwaj.
