Who Was Sarla Bhat? Why J&K Police is Reinvestigating Her 1990 Killing After 35 Years

The J&K SIA has reopened the 1990 murder case of nurse Sarla Bhat, a Kashmiri Pandit killed by militants for defying threats. Fresh raids target ex-JKLF members to gather evidence, aiming for justice after 35 years.

Sarla Bhat was a 27-year-old Kashmiri Pandit nurse working at the Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS) in Soura, Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir. She was from Anantnag and was known for her courage in openly defying militant threats during the peak of terrorism in Kashmir in 1990. On April 18, 1990, armed militants kidnapped Sarla from the Habba Khatoon Hostel at SKIMS. She had refused to follow militant orders that all Kashmiri Pandits must leave government jobs and the Valley.

The next morning, her body was found in Umar Colony, Mallabagh with multiple bullet wounds. A note left by the killers branded her a 'police informant'. Her killing happened when Pakistan-backed groups were targeting Kashmiri Pandits to drive them out of the Valley. Now, State Investigation Agency, Jammu and Kashmir has reopened the case and are conducted the raids are going on in 8 locations across Srinagar in the case related to Sarla Bhat's abduction and killing. The SIA said that there has been no arrest so far in the raids.

Terror and threats after her death

Even after Sarla Bhat was killed, her family faced threats. They were warned not to attend her cremation. At that time, many Kashmiri Pandit families were fleeing because of similar killings, threats through mosque loudspeakers and public hit lists. Sarla's killing was one of many such attacks in early 1990. Thousands of Pandit families left their homes in fear, after militants killed community members, threatened women, and marked houses for attack. By mid-1990, nearly 3-4 lakh Pandits had fled to Jammu, Delhi, and other parts of India.

The investigation in 1990 and fresh probe in 2024

Police registered FIR No. 56/1990 at Nigeen Police Station, but the case made no progress for decades. Investigators at the time could not identify the actual perpetrators. In 2024, the Jammu and Kashmir State Investigation Agency (SIA) took over the case. On Tuesday, August 12, the SIA raided eight locations across central Kashmir. The searches included the home of former JKLF leader Peer Noorul Haq Shah, also known as 'Air Marshal'.

Though there has been no arrest in the case yet, the officials have recovered documents and digital data that may help uncover the conspiracy behind Sarla's killing. The SIA said this is part of the administration's effort to bring those responsible for such terror crimes to justice, even after decades.

Taking note of the latest developments in the case, BJP leader Amit Malviya, in charge of the party’s National Information & Technology Department, wrote on X that Sarla Bhatt, a young Kashmiri Pandit nurse, was abducted from her workplace in April 1990, brutally tortured, gang-raped, mutilated and killed. He said her murder was part of the targeted campaign of ethnic cleansing against Kashmiri Pandits to drive the Hindu minority out of the Valley and remains one of the most chilling reminders of the atrocities that led to their mass exodus.