Jammu, Dec 2(KNB): A special TADA court on Tuesday ordered the release of Shafat Ahmed Shangloo, who had been arrested a day earlier in connection with the 1989 kidnapping of Rubaiyya Sayeed, daughter of then Union Home Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed.
The court dismissed the CBI’s request for Shangloo’s custody, observing that his name did not appear in the chargesheet filed in the decades-old case. The agency had argued that Shangloo had been absconding for 35 years and needed to be questioned regarding the kidnapping carried out on December 8, 1989, which ended after five days with the release of five JKLF militants.
Shangloo, described by the CBI as a close associate of JKLF chief Yasin Malik and an alleged conspirator in the abduction, was said to be carrying a reward of ₹10 lakh. He was arrested on Monday from his residence in Srinagar’s Nishat area during a joint operation by the CBI and Jammu & Kashmir Police.
According to investigators, Shangloo allegedly handled finances for the banned JKLF and was part of the group’s conspiracy. Following his arrest, the CBI emphasized that he was wanted under various sections of the Ranbir Penal Code and the TADA Act.
The court, however, declined to hand him over to the agency for custodial interrogation.
Yasin Malik, who is currently lodged in Delhi’s Tihar Jail in a terror funding case, continues to be produced in court only via video link due to restrictions imposed by the Ministry of Home Affairs.(KNB)