After 35 years, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) considers the arrest of Shafat Ahmed Shangloo a “major breakthrough,” saying he was a key accused who had been an absconder for 35 years, and his capture provides significant momentum to one of India’s most high-profile and politically sensitive anti-terror cases. However, the CBI failed to secure custody of the accused.
In a setback for the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), a TADA court on Tuesday rejected its plea seeking the remand of Shafat Ahmed Shangloo — arrested a day earlier for his alleged role in the 1989 kidnapping of then Union Home Minister Mufti Mohammed Sayeed’s daughter. With the court turning down the agency’s request for custody, Shangloo was released soon after.
Shafat Ahmed Shangloo was arrested on December 1, 2025, by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in connection with the 1989 kidnapping of Rubaiya Sayeed. He is an alleged key member of the banned Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF). He was arrested from the Nishat police station. Sources in security forces said he was arrested with the help of the local police from the Nishant area in Srinagar and then was handed out to the CBI at Nishant police station. and will be produced before a special TADA court in Jammu. An officer said Shangloo allegedly worked as an office bearer of JKLF and was handling its finances. Later, CBI published a press release.
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CBI wrote, “The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested an absconder, Shafat Ahmed Shangloo, wanted in a 35-year-old CBI case relating to the kidnapping of Dr. Rubiya Sayeed, D/o Shri Mufti Mohd. Sayeed, EX Home Minister.”
“The said accused Shangloo conspired with Yasin Malik and others in committing a crime under various sections of RPC and TADA Act during the Year 1989.” The absconder is carrying a reward of Rs. 10 lacs on his head.”
“He will be produced before the TADA Court, Jammu, within the stipulated time as per law.”
Sources in intelligence said Shangloo is accused of conspiring with Yasin Malik and other JKLF members to plan and execute the kidnapping.
He was allegedly an office bearer of the JKLF and managed the organization’s finances. He evaded law enforcement for approximately 35 years and was declared a proclaimed offender by the TADA court in Jammu.
The CBI had announced a reward of ₹10 lakh for information leading to his arrest.
He has been charged under various sections of the Ranbir Penal Code (RPC) and the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act (TADA Act). He is set to be produced before the designated TADA court in Jammu for further legal action.
Rubaiya Sayeed, then a 23-year-old medical intern and the daughter of the then Union Home Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, was abducted in Srinagar on December 8, 1989.
The JKLF claimed responsibility for the abduction, demanding the release of five jailed militants in exchange for her safety.
After five days of intense negotiations and immense pressure on the V.P. Singh government, the government agreed to the demands, releasing the five JKLF militants.
Rubaiya Sayeed was freed on December 13, 1989. This event is widely considered a turning point that fueled terrorism in Kashmir. Later in 1996, JKLF did a mass surrender, and Yaseen Malik became a separatist leader.
The CBI took over the case in 1990 and named several accused, including JKLF chief Yasin Malik, who is currently serving a life sentence in a separate terror-funding case. Rubaiya Sayeed, acting as a prosecution witness, identified Yasin Malik as one of her abductors in a 2022 court hearing.
