RUBAIYA SAYEED KIDNAPPING CASE: Court rejects CBI’s request for judicial custody of Shafat Shangloo, releases him for lack of evidence

STC NEWS DESK
SRINAGAR, DECEMBER 02 (STC): The Court of the 3rd Additional District and Sessions Judge (TADA/POTA), Jammu, today rejected the Central Bureau of Investigation’s (CBI’s) request for judicial custody of Shafat Ahmed Shangloo, an accused in the 1989 kidnapping of Rubaiya Sayeed.
The special court released him just one day after the CBI had publicly announced his arrest as a major development, stating that there was a lack of evidence to justify his continued detention.
Shungloo’s counsel, Advocate Anil Raina, told Straight Talk Communications (STC) that the court declined the investigating agency’s request after observing that the chargesheet contained no incriminating material against his client.
“When the agency sought custody, the court refused after finding nothing against him in the chargesheet,” Raina said.
He further said that the Investigating Officer had already extended the benefit to Shungloo on the basis that no evidence had emerged against him during the probe.
“As no material evidence exists, the court today ordered his release,” the counsel said, adding that with the rejection of custody, there would be no further investigation against his client.
The CBI in a press release issued on December 1, 2025, had claimed that Shangloo had been an absconder for 35 years and carried a reward of Rs.10 lakh. His arrest was described as a breakthrough in one of the cases linked to the early phase of the Kashmir insurgency.
According to the CBI, Shangloo was identified as an alleged close associate and finance handler of the banned Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) and a conspirator with JKLF chief Yasin Malik in the 1989 abduction. However, the TADA court found that this claim was not supported when the case records were examined.
The CBI had filed an application in the TADA court seeking judicial custody on the ground that Shafat Ahmed Shangloo had been absconding for the last 35 years. When the court examined the file, it did not find any such record against him.
The decision of the court, delivered in the presence of Senior Additional Advocate General Monika Kohli and a Special Public Prosecutor for the CBI, indicated that the agency did not present new or convincing evidence to support its claim that Shangloo had been an absconder or to justify keeping him in custody.
The CBI’s assertion regarding Shangloo’s status was further questioned when information surfaced showing that he had a visible public presence in the Kashmir Valley. Reports and social media activity showed that he was active socially and maintained a consistent online profile.
Shangloo often posted images from social gatherings and family events on his social media accounts, which was not consistent with the behavior of someone considered a ‘fugitive’. His last public post, dated November 29, two days before his arrest, featured a local resident from Jammu named Kuldeep Sharma and carried the caption “The Man with a Golden Heart”. The post discussed Sharma’s donation of a plot of land to a journalist whose house had recently been demolished, showing Shangloo’s involvement in community discussions up to the time of his arrest.
This raised questions about the thoroughness of the agency’s efforts, considering that a reward had been announced for Shangloo’s capture even though he was easily traceable on public platforms.
The 1989 kidnapping of Dr. Rubaiya Sayeed, daughter of the then Union Home Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, remains a significant event in India’s security history. Her release in exchange for five jailed JKLF members is often viewed as a moment that strengthened militant groups and contributed to the beginning of the insurgency in Kashmir.
The case continues before the TADA court, where charges were formally framed against Yasin Malik and nine others in 2021. Rubaiya Sayeed identified Malik as one of her abductors during a court hearing in 2022. Malik is currently serving a life sentence in a separate terror funding case.
Shangloo was among twelve accused persons, apart from the ten against whom charges were framed, who had been classified as absconders. His brief arrest followed by immediate release represents a setback for the CBI in its efforts to conclude the long pending trial.
(Straight Talk Communications I Inputs from Kashmir Dot Com)