A Terrorist and Disruptive Activities Act (TADA) court framed charges against separatist e Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) chief Yasin Malik and six others on Monday in a 30-year-old case of a militant attack that killed four Air Force officials in Srinagar in 1990.
Mr. Malik, who refused to take any defence lawyer in the case, pleaded “not guilty” and stated that it was a fabricated case.
The charges were framed under Section 302, 307 of the Ranbir Penal Code, Section3 (3) and Section 4(1) of the TADA Act, 1987, and Section 7/27 of the Arms Act 1959, and Section 120-B of the RPC.
The court mentioned the CBI chargesheet, including documentary and oral confessional evidence recorded under Section 164 of CrPC and Section 15 of TADA, as it framed the charges. Special Judge, NIA, Subhash Gupta observed that prima facie evidences could safely be considered as incriminating material against all the accused.
“I do not plead guilty. It is a fabricated case,” Mr. Malik told the court. He also questioned reopening of the case after 30 years. Judge Gupta read out the charges to Mr. Malik, who is lodged in the Tihra Jail, through video conferencing.
The charges have been framed under sections of Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act and the Arms Act of the Ranbir Penal Code. The court will hear the case again on March 30.
“The court has framed charges against all the seven accused, including Yasin Malik and Showkat Bakshi, lodged in Tihar and Ambedkar Nagar jails,” additional public prosecutor Rakesh Singh, representing the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), said.
Four Indian Air Force (IAF) officials, including Squadron Leader Ravi Khanna, were killed in the attack in Srinagar on January 25, 1990. Though the CBI first filed its first chargesheet in 1990, the case was granted a prolonged stay on its trial, which was vacated recently. The then government decided against pursuing the case immediately after JKLF declared a ceasefire in 1994 and pledged to stop armed insurgency in J&K. In fact, JKLF chief Malik decided to follow the Gandhian way of politics in Kashmir.
A JKLF spokesman termed the charge-sheet “fictitious, concocted and politically motivated.”
“Unfortunately, Malik is not allowed to represent himself. Ultimately, the truth will triumph,” said the spokesman.
