‘Activist and intellectual’ John Dayal has stated in a debate on Times now that he will consider Yasin Mallik a murderer only after the courts see him as a murderer. He made this statement in the presence of Nirmala Khanna, the wife of late Sqn Ldr Ravi Khanna, who was killed by Mallik on January 25, 1990.
If the court describes him (Yasin Malik) as a criminal then I will see him as a criminal: @JohnDayal, Author tells Padmaja Joshi on @thenewshour AGENDA. | #WhoShieldedYasin pic.twitter.com/sXXXTq5fXR
— TIMES NOW (@TimesNow) September 10, 2019
During the discussion, Dayal made a grandstanding that ‘blood will out’ and those who have committed murders will be punished someday. He also slammed the BJP for being in a coalition government with PDP in Jammu and Kashmir for 4 years. When anchor Padmaja Joshi asked Dayal whether he will call Yasin Malik a murderer now, Dayal stated that he will call him a murderer only when the courts find him guilty of murder.
Sqn Ldr Ravi Khanna was one of the four Indian Air Force personnel killed by Yasin Mallik and other JKLF terrorists when they had attacked IAF personnel who were waiting at Sant Nagar Crossing to board their buses on January 25, 1990. 40 personnel, including a female official, were injured at that shootout led by Malik himself.
Later, Malik had admitted in a BBC interview that he was involved in the murders of IAF men. The case, pending for 30 years, has been reopened. Malik, lodged in Tihar, will be produced before a special TADA court in Jammu tomorrow on 11 September.
Squadron Leader Ravi Khanna, only 38-year-old at that time was killed by Yasin Malik. Malik had allegedly fired 26 bullets on Khanna.
