SIA files chargesheet against JKLF members in 1990 Sarla Bhat murder case

More than 35 years after the abduction and murder of Kashmiri Pandit nurse Sarla Bhat, the Jammu and Kashmir State Investigation Agency (SIA) on Monday filed a chargesheet against five operatives of the banned Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF). including its jailed chief Mohammad Yasin Malik.

Sarla Bhat, a 27-year-old nurse at the Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS) and a resident of Anantnag, was among the few Kashmiri Pandits who chose to remain in the Valley after militancy erupted in 1990.

She was allegedly abducted by JKLF militants from SKIMS on April 18, 1990, and taken to the Illahibagh-Lal Bazar area, where she was reportedly tortured and shot dead. Her bullet-riddled body was recovered five days later from downtown Srinagar with a note accusing her of being a mukhbir (informer).

Officials said the chargesheet is based on evidence gathered during the SIA’s investigation.

Of the five identified JKLF members, three have died, one is in custody, and one is absconding.

Besides JKLF chief Malik, the chargesheet was also filed against Abdul Hamid Sheikh, former commander of JKLF; Ghulam Mohammad Taploo; Khursheed Chalkoo; and Mohammad Yousuf alias Idrees.

The SIA had registered a case last year and later carried out simultaneous searches at eight locations in Srinagar, including the residence of Malik.