Bailable warrant issued against Mehbooba Mufti's sister Rubaiya Sayeed in 1989 kidnapping case

Jammu, Aug 23: In a significant development, the Tada court on Tuesday issued a bailable warrant against Rubaiya Sayeed for not being present before the court on the hearing date in a 1989 kidnapping case.

 

Rubaiya Sayeed, the sister of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti and daughter of former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, was abducted by Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) militants on December 8, 1989. Yasin Malik, who is serving life imprisonment in Tihar Jail in a terror funding case, is an accused in this case along with others.

 

On July 15, Rubaiya appeared before a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court for the first time to record her statement in the 1989 kidnapping case. For today's hearing, Yasin Malik, one of the accused in the '1989' case asked the court to allow him to appear physically.

 

The court said that Yasin will be provided with legal aid, but all accused are appearing through video conferencing as per the High Court order, so physical appearance is not possible for any accused.

 

"Rubaiya was summoned by Tada Court, Jammu. She was supposed to be present for cross-examination, but she did not appear. The court issued a bailable warrant against her. The next date of hearing is September 21," said senior CBI lawyer, Monika Kohli.

 

"In the light of High Court order, Yasin was not allowed to appear physically. Rubaiya will be summoned on the next date through a bailable warrant," said Special Public Prosecutor CBI, SK Bhatt.

 

 

Notably, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) court in May this year awarded life imprisonment to separatist leader Yasin Malik in a terror funding case. The NIA court while sentencing Malik to life imprisonment also imposed a fine of Rs 10 lakh. He was sentenced to life imprisonment twice. NIA had sought the death penalty for the separatist leader who was convicted on May 19. Malik had told the court that he was not contesting the charges levelled against him.