Reopening of Sarla Bhat Murder Case: Justice Sought for Kashmiri Pandit Victim

The State Investigation Agency has reopened the case of Sarla Bhat, a Kashmiri Pandit woman, murdered 35 years ago. Recent raids targeting former JKLF members in central Kashmir aim to uncover evidence to resolve her murder during the violence that drove Pandits from the Valley in 1990.

The State Investigation Agency (SIA) has revived the case of Sarla Bhat, a Kashmiri Pandit woman who was murdered 35 years ago during the surge of militancy in the Valley. On Tuesday, raids were carried out across eight locations in central Kashmir, targeting former members of the banned terrorist group JKLF.

Bhat, who worked as a nurse, vanished from her hostel at Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences in 1990, only to be discovered dead in downtown Srinagar. The investigation, now under the purview of SIA, led to searches at the residences of individuals formerly affiliated with the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front.

Among those whose properties were searched was Peer Noorul Haq Shah, alias Air Marshal, a former JKLF leader. The SIA's strategic searches have reportedly yielded incriminating evidence potentially instrumental in unraveling the terrorist plot, thus paving the way for justice for Bhat's family. Formed in 2021, the SIA aims to expedite terror-related investigations and prosecutions.

(With inputs from agencies.)