Eyewitness identifies JKLF chief Yasin Malik as the ‘main shooter’ in IAF men’s killing

Officials said Malik refused to cross question the witness and insisted that he should be allowed to represent by physical appearance in the case.

A former Indian Air Force officer, who survived a 1990 attack that left four of his IAF colleagues dead in Srinagar, has identified Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) chief Yasin Malik as the "main shooter".

“Malik pulled out his gun after lifting the pheran and opened fire on us,” said Rajwar Umeshwar Singh, a retired IAF corporal, pointing to Malik as he deposed before the TADA court in Jammu on January 17. Malik, who is lodged in Delhi's high-security Tihar Jail, appeared via a video link.

On January 25, 1990, four IAF personnel, including Squadron Leader Ravi Khanna, were killed when terrorists opened fire at them as they waited for a bus to pick them up from Rawalpora, on the outskirts of Srinagar, and take them to the old Srinagar airport for duty. Forty people were injured in the attack that sent shock waves across the country.

“I was among the IAF personnel waiting for their bus to get to office,” the Indian Express quotes Singh, who was hit by four bullets, as saying.

Officials said Malik refused to cross-question Singh.

Jatinder Singh Jamwal, presiding officer of the TADA court, fixed February 15 and 16 as the next date of hearing.

According to the CBI, another accused, Showkat Ahmed Bakshi, met Amanullah Khan in 1989 across the border and “hatched a criminal conspiracy” to attack the security forces, including IAF officials stationed at Srinagar “to create terror”.

Also Read: Pakistan appoints Kashmiri separatist Yasin Malik's wife as special advisor to caretaker PM

In March 2020, the TADA court framed charges against Yasin and six others.

Apart from the shooting in Srinagar, Malik is also an accused in the kidnapping of Rubaiya Sayeed, daughter of then Union home minister Mufti Mohammed Sayeed and sister of Peoples Democratic Party president Mehbooba Mufti, for getting five of the outfit’s terrorists released from custody in exchange of her release. She was kidnapped on December 8, 1989, and was released on December 13.