Justice After 35 Years: SIA J&K Reopens Probe into 1990 Killing of Kashmiri Pandit Nurse
Over three decades after a brutal act of terror shook Srinagar’s medical community, the State Investigation Agency (SIA) of Jammu & Kashmir has reopened the case of 27-year-old nurse Sarla Bhat’s killing, launching fresh searches to uncover the conspiracy behind her murder.
According to senior government sources, SIA teams carried out coordinated raids at eight locations across Srinagar district on Tuesday, seizing what investigators have described as “incriminating evidence” linked to the 1990 crime. Officials said the renewed effort aims to identify and prosecute the terrorists who abducted and murdered the young Kashmiri Pandit nurse — a case they call a “classic example of justice delayed, but not denied.”
The Crime That Shook Kashmir
A resident of Anantnag, Sarla Bhat was working at the Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS) in Soura. Despite threats from armed militants ordering Kashmiri Pandits to leave the Valley, she continued to stay at the hospital’s Habba Khatoon Hostel.
On 18 April 1990, she was abducted by terrorists affiliated with the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF). The next morning, her bullet-riddled body was found at Umar Colony, Mallabagh, Soura. Beside her lay a handwritten note falsely accusing her of being a police informer.
Police registered an FIR (No. 56/1990) at Nigeen Police Station, but the investigation stalled. Officials say the atmosphere of fear during the peak of militancy prevented witnesses from speaking up, while local police faced severe constraints in pursuing cases involving armed groups.
Targeted for Defiance
Investigators believe Sarla was targeted for defying militant diktats aimed at forcing the Kashmiri Pandit community to leave.
“She refused to bow to JKLF’s threats, choosing to stay and continue her service. That defiance made her a marked target,” a senior investigator told CNN-News18.
Her family, too, faced threats after her death. Locals sympathetic to militants allegedly warned them against participating in her cremation, forcing them to perform the last rites under fear.
Case Handed to SIA
For years, the case remained unresolved. Last year, it was formally transferred from local police to the SIA, as part of Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha’s push to re-examine unsolved targeted killing cases from the height of the insurgency.
Officials say the latest evidence recovered during searches could be “crucial” in reconstructing the events of April 1990 and identifying both the perpetrators and those who planned the attack.
Hope for Justice
“This is not a token investigation. The message is clear — however long it takes, the state will pursue justice for victims of terrorism,” a top official said.
For Sarla Bhat’s family and many displaced Kashmiri Pandits, the fresh probe brings renewed hope that the long wait for accountability may finally be coming to an end.
