Jammu: The 36-year-long manhunt ended on the night of December 1 with the arrest of Shafat Ahmed Shangloo in connection with the 1989 kidnapping of Rubaiya Sayeed, daughter of then-Home Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed. Shangloo, accused of conspiring with Yasin Malik, chief of the Jammu & Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF), and his associates, was apprehended in Srinagar. A reward of Rs 10 lakh had been announced for his capture.
The CBI has arrested absconder Shafat Ahmed Shangloo in connection with the 1989 Rubiya Sayeed kidnapping case. pic.twitter.com/Z7KdPf7Wv3
— IANS (@ians_india) December 1, 2025
1989 Rubaiya Sayeed Kidnapping Case
On December 8, 1989, Rubaiya Sayeed, daughter of then Union Home Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, was kidnapped while returning home from a hospital in Srinagar. The abduction was carried out by terrorists linked to the Jammu & Kashmir Liberation Front. The kidnapping occurred just days after Mufti Mohammad Sayeed assumed office as Union Home Minister. The terrorists demanded the release of five of their arrested associates in exchange for Rubaiya’s safe return.
The incident placed the then V P Singh government under immense pressure. On one hand, the government had to ensure the safety of a minister’s daughter; on the other, releasing the terrorists’ associates risked encouraging future attacks.
After five days of negotiations, protests, and mounting tension, the government conceded on December 13, releasing five imprisoned terrorists. In return, Rubaiya Sayeed, the third daughter of Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, was freed. This marked the first time the Indian government had released terrorists in exchange for a kidnapping. The move is widely believed to have contributed to a surge in terrorism in Kashmir, with many experts regarding it as a pivotal turning point.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) took over the case in 1990 and announced rewards for information leading to the arrest of Yasin Malik, a key accused in the kidnapping, and his associates. Malik is currently serving a sentence in Tihar Jail after being convicted by a special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court in May 2023 in a terror-funding case. In the same year, an eyewitness identified Malik and another accused, Mohammad Zaman, in court.
The case continues in the TADA court in Jammu, established to handle matters under the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act (TADA) of 1987. Rubaiya Sayeed, now residing in Tamil Nadu, is listed as a prosecution witness by the CBI.
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