Srinagar, June 29 (NVI): After a long period of 36 years, law has finally caught with pro-Pakistan chief of JKLF terror outfit Yasin Malik in the brutal murder of a Kashmiri Pandit nurse Sarla Bhat as he has been named in a chargesheet in the case along with 4 other associates.
The State Investigation Agency (SIA), Kashmir, has filed a 737-page chargesheet before a special court in Srinagar in connection with the abduction, torture and killing of Sarla Bhat, who was a nurse at the government-run Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciencies (SKIMS).
The young Sarla was abducted on April 18, 1990, from the vicinity of the hospital located in Soura area, on the outskirts of Srinagar.
The SIA said she was subjected to brutal torture before being shot dead with automatic weapons at Omer Colony, Malbagh, Srinagar.
The agency, which was handed over the case in 2024, said the investigation established that the murder was not an isolated act but part of a larger conspiracy orchestrated by the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) to spread fear and terror during the early years of militancy.
The chargesheet names Mohammad Yasin Malik, then Chief Commander of JKLF and now Chairman of the terror outfit, along with Khurshid Ahmad Chalkoo, Abdul Hamid Sheikh, Mohammad Yousuf Sofi alias Idrees and Ghulam Mohammad Taploo.
Malik is currently lodged in judicial custody in another case while Hamid Sheikh, Sofi and Taploo have died during the interim period.
Proceedings have also been initiated against absconding accused Khurshid Ahmad Chalkoo, who is believed to have exfiltrated to Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir.
According to the SIA, the investigation found that allegations branding Sarla Bhat as an “informer” were fabricated and used as a pretext for her targeted killing.
The agency said the murder formed part of a systematic campaign of terrorist violence intended to spread fear among civilians, particularly the Kashmiri Pandit community, and facilitate their forced displacement from the Valley.
The accused have been chargesheeted under Sections 364, 341, 302, 201 and 120-B of the Ranbir Penal Code (RPC), relevant provisions of the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act (TADA), and the Arms Act.
The SIA said the chargesheet is based on extensive oral, documentary, forensic, ballistic, medical and electronic evidence collected and re-examined during the fresh investigation.
The case, originally registered in 1990, was transferred to the SIA on March 18, 2024, on the directions of the Director General of Police, J&K.
Calling the filing of the chargesheet a historic milestone, the SIA said the investigation reaffirms that no terrorist crime becomes immune with the passage of time and that those responsible for acts of terror will continue to face the law, regardless of the years elapsed.
The agency said the chargesheet represents not only the culmination of a 35-year pursuit of justice but also a tribute to the victim and a strong message that terrorism has no limitation period and perpetrators cannot evade accountability indefinitely. (NVI)
