1991 Jammu Railway Blast Accused Arrested After 35 Years

The Jammu Railway Police on Thursday successfully arrested Altaf Hussain Sheikh, a key accused in the 1991 Jammu railway station bomb blast, after a pursuit lasting 35 years. Sheikh, a resident of Marhama-Bijbehara in Anantnag, had been absconding since the day of the attack, which killed three people and injured 18 others on platform number 1. Following his arrest in Anantnag, he was produced before the TADA Court on August 13, 2026, for the initiation of formal legal proceedings. The arrest marks a major breakthrough in a cold case that had remained open for over three decades.

For several decades, Sheikh managed to evade law enforcement by concealing his identity and living as a successful businessman in the Bijbehara area of South Kashmir. While one accomplice, Aman Ullah Khan, was captured on the day of the 1991 blast, Sheikh and two others had successfully disappeared, leading a court to declare them absconders. The Railway Police intensified their manhunt over the last two years, meticulously verifying residential particulars and commercial records to uncover Sheikh’s disguised life. This long-term surveillance ultimately established his true identity, leading to the coordinated raid that ended his time on the run.

The 1991 bombing was booked under the stringent Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act (TADA), which remains the legal framework for his current prosecution. Police officials stated that legal proceedings will now move forward to address his role in the bombing that targeted paramilitary personnel and civilians. The arrest is being viewed as a significant success for the Jammu and Kashmir security apparatus, demonstrating that long-term fugitives remain under the radar of evolving intelligence networks. Authorities are now looking into whether any local networks assisted in shielding Sheikh’s identity over the past 35 years.