Jammu, August 19: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has taken action to request the revocation of bail granted to Rafiq Pahloo, a member of the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF), in connection with two significant terror-related cases. These cases involve the killing of Indian Air Force officers in 1990 and the abduction of Rubaiya Sayeed in 1989.
During the recent hearing at the special Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act court, Senior Additional Advocate General and CBI’s chief prosecutor, Monika Kohli, confirmed the developments. Pahloo had been granted bail in both cases, but he was subsequently apprehended in Srinagar as part of efforts to rekindle separatist activities.
Yasin Malik, the leader of JKLF and another accused in these cases, encountered technical difficulties preventing his attendance via video conferencing. Malik has been incarcerated in Delhi’s Tihar Jail since April 2019 due to his involvement in a terror funding case investigated by the National Investigation Agency (NIA).
Rafiq Pahloo, also known as “Nanaji,” was among ten individuals arrested in July in connection with a plot to revive the proscribed JKLF and separatist group Hurriyat conference in the region. He is presently held at Central Jail Srinagar under judicial remand.
As the court proceedings began, Kohli revealed that the CBI had filed an application to terminate Pahloo’s bail in light of his engagement in separatist activities, thereby violating the bail conditions. In response, the court ordered the Superintendent of Central Jail to present Pahloo virtually during the upcoming hearing. There is a high likelihood that his bail will be revoked in both cases.
The special TADA court had previously framed charges against Yasin Malik, Rafiq Pahloo, and other co-accused on March 16, 2020, in relation to the killing of four IAF personnel in the outskirts of Srinagar in January 1990. Additionally, charges were established against them in the Rubaiya Sayeed abduction case on January 11, 2021. The court has scheduled September 16 and October 1 for the next hearings in the IAF killing case and the Rubaiya Sayeed kidnapping case, respectively, for the purpose of cross-examining witnesses.
Rubaiya Sayeed, the victim of the 1989 abduction, is the daughter of Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, who was the Union Home Minister at the time.
