J&K separatist leader Yasin Malik to face trial in 1990 IAF officers' killing case: Here is all you need to know

Nearly 30 years after four IAF officers were killed by terrorists belonging to a group, allegedly run by Jammu and Kashmir separatist leader Yasin Malik, the stage is set for his trial.

A Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act (TADA) court in Jammu will begin the hearing in the case from October 1.

A day before Republic Day 1990, car-borne terrorists opened fire at Squadron Leader Ravi Khanna and three of his colleagues in Rawalpora, on the outskirts of Srinagar. The terrorists allegedly belonged to a group operated by Yasin Malik.

Eyewitnesses had told the police that Sqn Ldr Khanna had borne the brunt of the attack while trying to cover his colleagues from heavy automatic weapon firing, The Times of India has reported.

During subsequent investigation, several eyewitnesses identified Malik, among others, as responsible for the firing. In 1990, two charge sheets were filed against Malik by the CBI in the TADA court in Jammu. However, a single bench of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court stayed the trial on the grounds that there was no TADA court in Srinagar.

Malik was also accused of orchestrating the kidnapping of Rubaiya Sayeed – the daughter of then Union home minister Mufti Mohammed Sayeed – in 1989.

In 2008, Malik approached the special court seeking that the trial should be shifted to Srinagar, as he was facing a lot of security problems. At that time, the Amarnath Yatra row had polarised the state on religious lines, over leasing the land to outsiders during the pilgrimage.

On 26 April this year, the Jammu and Kashmir High Court lifted its stay on the trial and rejected Malik’s plea to shift the trial.

Yasin Malik was arrested on February 22 this year from his Srinagar residence after the Pulwama terror attack. He is currently lodged in New Delhi’s Tihar jail under the Public Safety Act.