Daijiworld Media Network – Srinagar
Srinagar, Aug 12: The Jammu and Kashmir State Investigation Agency (SIA) on Tuesday carried out raids at eight locations across central Kashmir in connection with the 1990 killing of Kashmiri Pandit nurse, Sarla Bhat.
Officials said the searches targeted the residences of several persons formerly associated with the banned Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF), including that of former JKLF leader Peer Noorul Haq Shah, also known as “Air Marshal.” The agency said it recovered incriminating evidence, including documents and digital data, believed to help unravel the conspiracy behind the murder.
The SIA took over the probe last year after the original police investigation failed to identify the perpetrators, terming the fresh effort as part of the administration’s resolve to bring the culprits of heinous terror acts to justice, even decades later.
The murder of Sarla Bhat
On April 18, 1990, 27-year-old nurse Sarla Bhat was kidnapped from the Habba Khatoon Hostel of the Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS) in Soura, Srinagar. A resident of Anantnag, she had openly defied militant diktats ordering Kashmiri Pandits to quit government jobs and leave the Valley.
She was shot dead by terrorists and her body, bearing multiple bullet wounds, was dumped in Umar Colony, Mallabagh, downtown Srinagar, along with a note branding her a “police informant.” Her family was threatened even after her death and warned against attending her cremation.
Police registered FIR No. 56/1990 at Nigeen Police Station, but the case remained unsolved for over three decades.
Part of the 1990 exodus
Her killing was one among several acts of terror aimed at forcing the mass exodus of Kashmiri Pandits from the Valley. Pakistan-backed groups such as the JKLF and Hizbul Mujahideen targeted Pandit leaders, marked their homes, and threatened families through mosque loudspeakers. Slogans demanding Nizam-e-Mustafa (Islamic rule) were blared, and hit lists were circulated.
Women were threatened with kidnappings, and several gruesome killings were carried out to instil fear. Within weeks, 3–4 lakh Kashmiri Pandits fled to Jammu, Delhi, and other parts of India.
Further details of Tuesday’s raids are awaited, officials added.