Date: December 8, 1989, Place: Lal Ded Hospital, Srinagar, Rubaiya Sayeed, daughter of then-Home Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, was kidnapped half a kilometer from her home in 1989. Rubaiya is the sister of former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti.
Five days after the kidnapping, the then VP Singh government at the Center released five terrorists, only then did the terrorists release Rubaiya.
On Monday, 35 years after the incident, the CBI arrested Shafat Ahmed Shanglu, declared a fugitive in the kidnapping case, from Srinagar. Shanglu is accused of being part of the JKLF conspiracy.
Shangloo carried out the kidnapping along with Yasin Malik and others under various sections of the Ranbir Penal Code and the TADA Act.
Shangloo is considered close to Yasin Malik, chief of the Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF). He also carried a reward of ₹10 lakh on his head.
The agency said in a statement that Shanglu will be produced before the TADA court in Jammu. Shanglu was an officer in the JKLF and was handling the organization's finances.
Mufti Saeed's Daughter Becomes a Government Witness
Saeed, who lives in Tamil Nadu, has been listed as a government witness by the CBI. The investigating agency took over the case in 1990. Saeed had identified four other accused, besides Malik, as being involved in the crime.
A special TADA court has already framed charges against Malik and nine others in Saeed's kidnapping case. Meanwhile, JKLF chief Yasin Malik is serving a sentence in Delhi's Tihar Jail in a terror financing case.
Read The Story of Rubaiya's Kidnapping
The mastermind of this high-profile kidnapping was JKLF leader Ashfaq Majid Wani. He was formerly an athlete from Jammu and Kashmir.
According to Ashfaq, they wanted to do something that would shake the government, and this opportunity arose when Mufti became Home Minister.
They first conducted reconnaissance of Mufti and his family. Daughter Rubaiya was a doctor at Lal Ded Hospital in Srinagar and used to travel home by minibus without security.
On December 8, 1989, Mufti Saeed's daughter Rubaiya was kidnapped by the JKLF (Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front) and was kept at a police officer's house.
After this, Javed Mir called a newspaper and informed that JKLF had kidnapped Mufti's daughter.
For Rubaiya's release, the JKLF had stipulated the release of seven of its jailed comrades: Sheikh Hamid, Sher Khan, Noor Mohammad Kalwal, Javed Jagrar, Altaf Bhat, Maqbool Bhat's brother Ghulam Nabi Bhat, and Ahad Waz. However, only five of these were released.
The Entire Country, Including Delhi, Was in an Uproar
The news of the Home Minister's daughter's kidnapping sent shockwaves through the Delhi government and the entire country. Several senior officials left Delhi for Srinagar. Negotiations with the terrorists began through an intermediary. The JKLF agreed to release five terrorists. Security agencies were searching for Rubaiya throughout the Valley. She had been relocated to Sopore, and only five people were aware of this.
The government relented, and the five terrorists were released. On the evening of December 13th, Rubaiya arrived safely at Justice Bhat's home in Sonwar. The mastermind of this incident, Ashfaq Wani, was killed in an encounter by security forces on March 31, 1990.
Separatist Leader Claims Kidnapping Was a Drama
Separatist leader Hilal War states in his book, "Great Disclosure: Secrets Unmasked," that the script for destabilizing Kashmir had been written long ago. The actual work began on December 13, 1989. Except for a few isolated incidents in the 1990s, the situation in Kashmir was fine. According to Hilal War, the Rubaiya Sayeed kidnapping, which sparked terrorism, was a drama.
The situation in Kashmir subsequently deteriorated. The hijacking of IC 814, the Parliament attack, and major terrorist incidents in the Valley all began after this kidnapping. Before the release of the terrorists, the Indian government had stipulated that no processions would be held after their release. However, when they were released from jail, people took to the streets.
Slogans of "freedom, freedom" were heard everywhere. Celebrations erupted throughout Kashmir that day. Following the successful kidnapping of Rubaiya, a series of kidnappings and murders began in the Kashmir Valley.
Another Claim: Mufti Did Not Want His Daughter's Immediate Release
In July 2012, former Major General OP Kaushik of the National Security Group (NSG) made a sensational claim regarding the Rubaiya Sayeed kidnapping case. He stated that Rubaiya's father and then-Home Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed did not want his daughter's immediate release. He stated that within five minutes of receiving information about the kidnapping, the NSG had located Rubaiya's whereabouts.
Kaushik himself informed the Home Minister that Rubaiya would be safely released within a short time. However, the Home Minister ignored his statement and ordered him to immediately leave the meeting and withdraw the NSG. Five dreaded terrorists were then released to secure Rubaiya's release.