Killing of IAF personnel: Court closes Yasin Malik’s right to cross-examine prime witness

Dr Rubaiya Sayeed kidnapping case adjourned for February 24, 25

STATE TIMES NEWS

JAMMU: Special Judge TADA Jammu, Ashwani Sharma adjourned the case of 1990 killings of 4 IAF personnel and kidnapping of Dr Rubiya Syed for February 24 and 25, 2023 with direction to CBIs to produce two witness each in case.
Court also closed JKLF Chief Yasin Malik’s right to cross-examine a prime witness in case after he refused to do so through video-conference.
Malik, who is presently in Delhi’s Tihar Jail after being convicted in a terror funding case and has been demanding that he be allowed to cross-examine witnesses physically in Jammu court, was also present in court virtually. When asked whether he would like to examine V K Sharma, a prime witness, Malik refused and reiterated his stand that he would like to physically question Sharma in court. However, the accused did not do that following which Court closed his right to cross-examine. Sharma had identified Malik before Examiner-in-Chief of the court as well as CBI as one of the terrorists involved in January 25, 1990 killing of four IAF personnel on the outskirts of Srinagar.
During the course of hearing, Counsels for CBI Monika Kohli and S K Bhat informed the court that the Union Home ministry had passed an order barring Malik from moving out of Tihar jail for a year from December 22, 2022 because of pending NIA cases against him.
In case of kidnapping of Rubiya Syed case, the witnesses were unable to reach Court due to closure of Jammu-Srinagar Highway and cancellation of flights.
Accordingly, Court adjourned the case and fixed February 24 and 25, 2023 for further examining of witnesses.