An eyewitness has identified Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) chief Yasin Malik as the main shooter behind killing of four Indian Air Force (IAF) personnel in Srinagar in 1990. The special CBI court is hearing the case.

Malik lifted his ‘pheran’, pulled out his gun and opened fire at a group of IAF personnel, the eyewitness deposed before the court on Thursday.

“This is an important development in the case... the prosecution witness has identified Malik as the man behind the shooting,” said Senior Public Prosecutor for CBI Monika Kohli.

Kohli is the chief prosecutor in two key cases against Malik — the 1989 abduction of Rubaiya Sayeed, daughter of then Union home minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, and the killing of the IAF personnel.

Four IAF personnel, including a squadron lader, were killed and several injured in January, 1990 at Rawalpora on the outskirts of the city.

Former IAF corporal Rajwar Umeshwar Singh, who survived the terror attack in which four IAF personnel were killed, pointed to Malik in the courtroom as the main shooter. Malik attended the court proceedings on video from Delhi’s Tihar Jail where he has been incarcerated since 2019.

Besides the four men, including Squadron Leader Ravi Khanna, who were killed, 40 people were injured on January 25, 1990, in Rawalpora on the outskirts of Srinagar.

The IAF employees were waiting for their pickup to old Srinagar airfield for duty when they came under fire from terrorists.

A charge sheet was filed on August 31, 1990 against Malik and five others before the designated TADA Court at Jammu.

Besides Malik, others accused in the killing of the IAF personnel are JKLF operatives Ali Mohammed Mir, Manzoor Ahmed Sofi, alias Mustafa, Javed Ahmed Mir, alias ‘Nalka’, Showkat Ahmed Bakshi, Javed Ahmed Zargar and Nanaji.

A special court in Jammu had in March, 2020 framed charges against Yasin and others for allegedly killing four IAF officers. — OC/Agencies

1990 srinagar killings

March 16, 2020 Special court in Jammu frames charges against Yasin Malik and six others allegedly involved in the killing of four IAF officials in 1990 in Srinagar

May 26, 2022 Nirmal Khanna, wife of Squadron Leader Ravi Khanna, said the separatist leader should not have roamed freely for 32 years after the heinous crime

July 13 Malik told the court that he wanted to cross-question witnesses in the case himself in a physical hearing else he would sit on hunger strike in prison

September 21 The Special Court had issued production warrant to ensure the physical presence of Malik on October 19. The Tihar jail, where he is lodged, informed the court that Malik’s travel to Jammu was not possible

January 23, 2023 Court closed Yasin Malik’s right to cross-examine a prime witness in killing of IAF personnel after he refused to do so through video conferencing

November 2 A witness in the case who was summoned by the court could not come as he was unwell

Courtesy: The Tribune India:  19th  Jan , 2024