CBI Arrests Suspect in 1989 Kidnapping of Rubaiyya Sayeed

The CBI has arrested a suspect linked to the 1989 kidnapping of Rubaiyya Sayeed, daughter of then Union home minister Mufti Mohammed Sayeed, by JKLF terrorists. The arrest comes 36 years after the abduction, for which five terrorists were released. Rubaiyya Sayeed now resides in Tamil Nadu.

In a significant development, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has apprehended a suspect in the long-standing kidnapping case of Rubaiyya Sayeed, the daughter of then Union home minister Mufti Mohammed Sayeed, which occurred on December 8, 1989. The suspect, identified as a resident of Ishber Nishat, was arrested on Monday, marking a breakthrough in the decades-old case.

Rubaiyya Sayeed, who was 23 years old at the time of her abduction, was released after five days when the then BJP-backed V P Singh government agreed to the release of five terrorists in exchange for her freedom. The CBI has been handling the investigation since the early 1990s, and Sayeed remains a prosecution witness in the case.

Yasin Malik, a key suspect in the kidnapping, is currently serving a sentence in Tihar jail following his conviction in a terror-funding case by a special NIA court in May 2023. The latest arrest sheds new light on the high-profile case as authorities continue to pursue justice.

(With inputs from agencies.)