1989 Rubaiya Sayeed kidnapping: Mastermind Shangloo arrested in Srinagar
In a significant breakthrough in the 1989 kidnapping case of Rubaiya Sayeed, daughter of then-Union Home Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Monday arrested a key conspirator, Shafat Ahmed Shangloo, from Srinagar.
Shangloo, who had evaded capture for 35 years and carried a Rs.10 lakh reward on his head, was apprehended from Srinagar’s Nishat area.
The arrest, announced by CBI officials on Monday, underscores renewed momentum in the trial before a designated Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (TADA) court in Jammu.
Shangloo, identified as a close associate and former office-bearer of the banned Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF), is accused of conspiring with JKLF chief Yasin Malik and others to orchestrate the abduction. He allegedly managed the group’s finances and played a pivotal role in the plot hatched in 1989.
CBI sleuths, in coordination with Jammu and Kashmir Police, executed the operation with precision. Shangloo, son of Saif-ud-Din and originally from Srinagar’s Hawal area, was summoned to the Nishat police station before being formally taken into custody from his home in Ishber Nishat.
Sources indicate the arrest followed meticulous surveillance and legal protocols, avoiding any confrontation. “He conspired with Yasin Malik and others in committing the crime under various sections of the RPC and TADA Act during the year 1989,” a CBI spokesperson stated, emphasizing Shangloo’s role as a financial handler for JKLF operations.
The agency confirmed he will be produced before the TADA court in Jammu within the stipulated time frame for further interrogation and remand.
Yasin Malik, already serving a life sentence in Tihar Jail for multiple terror-related convictions—including the 1990 killing of four IAF personnel—remains the prime accused. The trial, dormant for years, has gained traction recently with witness examinations and evidence presentation.
How Rubaiya Sayyed was kidnapped
The kidnapping unfolded on December 8, 1989, amid escalating unrest in Jammu and Kashmir. Rubaiya Sayeed, then a 23-year-old medical intern at Srinagar’s Lala Ded Maternity Hospital, was en route home in a minibus near Nowgam when JKLF militants waylaid the vehicle and abducted her just half a kilometer from her residence. The audacious operation, executed in broad daylight, sent shockwaves through the nation, exposing vulnerabilities in security amid rising separatist fervor. The JKLF, led by the then-commander Yasin Malik, demanded the release of five jailed militants—Abdul Hamid Sheikh, Sher Khan, Noor Mohammad Kalwal, Altaf Ahmed, and Javed Ahmed Jargar—in exchange for Rubaiya’s safe return. After five days of intense negotiations under the VP Singh-led central government, the demands were met. Rubaiya was released on December 13, 1989, but the swap emboldened militant groups, leading to widespread celebrations in the Kashmir Valley and a surge in terror activities.
Current status of the case
The case was transferred to the CBI in early 1990 under the TADA Act. Charges include conspiracy, kidnapping for ransom, and violations of anti-terror laws. Rubaiya Sayeed, now residing in Tamil Nadu and listed as a key prosecution witness, testified in July 2022 before the TADA court, unequivocally identifying Yasin Malik as one of her abductors. Additional eyewitness accounts in February 2023 further corroborated the involvement of Malik and co-accused Mohammad Zaman, strengthening the prosecution’s narrative.
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