The Jammu and Kashmir Police’s Special Investigation Agency (SIA) has raided eight locations in Srinagar in connection with the 1990 killing of Kashmiri Pandit nurse Sarla Bhat. The searches were carried out late Monday and into Tuesday and targeted premises linked to former members of the banned Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF), officials said.
Bhat, 27, was abducted from the Habba Khatoon Hostel at the Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS) in Soura on April 18, 1990. Her bullet-ridden body was recovered the next morning from Umar Colony, Mallabagh.
According to police records, Bhat was abducted and killed by militants affiliated with the JKLF. A handwritten note accusing her of being a police informant was found on her body. Investigators believe she was targeted for defying militant orders for Pandits to quit government jobs and leave the Valley, and for publicly challenging the JKLF’s authority.
Her family faced threats even after her killing, with locals reportedly warned against attending her cremation. The original First Information Report, lodged at Nigeen Police Station, failed to identify the perpetrators.
Ex-JKLF leader’s house raided
One of the premises searched was of former JKLF leader Peer Noorul Haq Shah, alias “Air Marshal”. The SIA took over the case last year as part of a renewed effort to prosecute those involved in violent crimes from the early 1990s.
Officials said “incriminating material” was recovered during the raids, which they believe could help establish the full conspiracy behind the killing. Details of the seized evidence have not been made public.
Push to prosecute 1990s terror crimes
The operation is part of the J&K administration’s stated resolve to identify and bring to justice those responsible for what it calls “heinous terror acts” of the 1990s.
Officials said the SIA’s focus is to trace all individuals linked to Bhat’s killing and prepare a case capable of standing up in court. More searches and witness examinations are expected as the investigation moves forward, they added.
