SIA Files Chargesheet in 1990 Murder of Kashmiri Pandit Nurse
The State Investigation Agency (SIA) on Monday filed a 737-page chargesheet in connection with the abduction, torture, and brutal murder of nurse Sarla Bhat in April 1990, naming jailed separatist leader Yasin Malik and four others as accused. The chargesheet was submitted before the Court of Additional Sessions Judge (TADA/POTA) and Special Judge designated under the NIA Act in Srinagar.
Details of the Crime
Bhat, a Kashmiri Pandit who worked at Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS), was killed by Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) terrorists on April 18, 1990. Her bullet-riddled body was discovered at Omer Colony, Malbagh. The case was transferred to the SIA in March 2024 under orders of the Director General of Police.
The SIA investigation established that the killing was not an isolated act but part of a larger terrorist conspiracy orchestrated under the command and control of the JKLF. The investigation revealed the involvement of Yasin Malik, then chief commander of the JKLF, along with Khurshid Ahmad Chalkoo, Abdul Hamid Sheikh, Mohammad Yousuf Sofi alias Idrees, and Ghulam Mohammad Taploo in planning and executing the abduction and killing.
Legal Proceedings Against Accused
According to the SIA statement, Sheikh, Sofi, and Taploo are deceased. Yasin Malik is currently in judicial custody in another case. Legal proceedings, including proclamation proceedings, have been initiated against absconding terrorist Chalkoo, who allegedly pulled the trigger and is believed to have infiltrated into Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir.
The chargesheet establishes offences under Sections 364, 341, 302 read with 34, 201, and 120-B of the Ranbir Penal Code; Sections 3(2), 3(3), 4, and 6 of the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act (TADA), 1987; and Sections 7 and 27 of the Indian Arms Act, 1959.
Investigation and Evidence
Despite the lapse of more than three and a half decades, investigators reconstructed the sequence of events through protected witness testimonies, independent eyewitness accounts, forensic and ballistic analysis, medical evidence, documentary records, electronic evidence, and extensive field investigations, the SIA said.
The investigation further established that the allegation portraying Sarla Bhat as an informer was entirely false and constituted a fabricated pretext employed by terrorists to justify a premeditated assassination.
The National Investigation Agency stated, "No matter how many years have elapsed, those responsible for terrorist atrocities will continue to remain answerable before the law. The case demonstrates that while terrorism may delay justice through fear, intimidation and violence, it can never permanently defeat the rule of law."
