Air Force officers killing case: What happened during Jammu and Kashmir IAF attack? Link with Yasin Malik

The killing of four unarmed Indian Air Force (IAF) officers back in 1990 made headlines over 30 years ago, with the case still pending with the judiciary. The killing of the IAF officers has a strong link with Yasin Malik, who is the prime accused in the case.

While prime accused Yasin Malik and Showkat Bakshi have repeatedly pleaded not guilty, a Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act (TADA) court has been conducting a train in the case for several years, with the families of the victims still awaiting justice.

Earlier, the TADA Court had said that there was enough evidence to convict Yasin Malik in the case. Meanwhile, the court decided to further defer the hearing till May 13 in the case as one of the accused in the killing was not present in the court. Yasin Malik was present via video conferencing.

The TADA Court bench said, “Two witnesses had come to the court today and their examination-in-chief was done. One of the witnesses said he can identify the accused but since all the accused were not present today, the court deferred the identification process to May 13.”

Air Force officers killing case: Know what happened

The high-profile case of the killing of four unarmed Indian Air Force officers in Jammu and Kashmir in 1990 attracted a lot of attention, mainly because the prime accused in the case is Kashmiri separated leader Yasin Malik.

On January 25, 1990, a squadron of IAF officers was travelling in Jammu and Kashmir’s Rawalpora area in Srinagar. The group included dozens of Air Force officials, along with their squadron leader Ravi Khanna.

While they were travelling, terrorists ambushed them and began firing at their convoy. The IAF officers were unarmed and could not retaliate against the artillery. This led to over 40 of the officials being injured, and four of them dead, including Ravi Khanna.

It was investigated that the attack on the IAF officers was done by Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front, a separatist organization in Jammu and Kashmir headed by Yasin Malik. Charges were filed against Malik, though he has not been convicted in the case yet.

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