On 8 December 1989, JKLF activists kidnapped Mufti Mohammed Sayeed’s daughter Rubaiya Sayeed, a medical student, while she was returning home in Srinagar. The Home Minister’s daughter had no security attached to her, and till the kidnappers rang up a local newspaper’s office about their demands for her release no one, not even her family members, knew anything about the kidnapping. Such an incident had not taken place earlier in the state and everyone was taken by surprised
This kidnapping, and the way it was handled, became a watershed in the history of terrorism and secessionist movement in the state. I was an eyewitness to the events, first in New Delhi and later in Srinagar. I was, at that time, posted as the Director-General of the National Security Guards. I received a call around dinner time asking me to immediately reach the Home Minister’s house at Akbar Road to discuss Rubaiya Sayeed’s kidnapping. I was ushered into the Home Minister’s drawing-room, where Arun Nehru, Commerce Minister, TN Seshan, the Cabinet Secretary, and the Director of Intelligence Bureau (DIB), MK Narayanan were already present. We sat there for quite some time, but there was no serious discussion as the Home Minister could not see us.
Around midnight it was decided to go to the DIB’s office, in the North Block, to talk to Srinagar on telephone from his hotline to get the latest information. Some more officers had by then also joined the meeting. At that late hour, all of us were getting tired and a little bored, as we did not know what we were supposed to do. It was then that Arun Nehru decided to take charge of the situation. The J&K Chief Secretary, Moosa Raza, who was on tour in New Delhi was also asked to attend the meeting. We were now quite a crowd, but the Home Minister could not join the meeting.
Esta historia es de la edición December 13-19, 2020 de Kashmir Life.
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Esta historia es de la edición December 13-19, 2020 de Kashmir Life.
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