Justice After 35 Years: SIA J&K Reopens Probe Into 1990 Killing Of Kashmiri Pandit Nurse

Last Updated:August 12, 2025, 10:19 IST

On April 18, 1990, Sarla Bhat was abducted from the hostel by terrorists affiliated with JKLF. The next morning, her bullet-riddled body was found at Umar Colony, Mallabagh, Soura.

SIA reopened probe into the 1990 killing of Kashmiri Pandit nurse Sarla Bhat. (Image: News18)

More than three decades after a brutal act of terror shook the medical community in Srinagar, the State Investigation Agency (SIA) of Jammu & Kashmir has launched fresh searches to unearth the conspiracy behind the killing of 27-year-old nurse Sarla Bhat.

According to top government sources, the SIA carried out coordinated raids at eight locations in Srinagar district on Tuesday, recovering what investigators describe as “incriminating evidence" linked to the crime. Officials say the renewed push aims to identify and prosecute the perpetrators who abducted and murdered the young Kashmiri Pandit nurse in April 1990 — a case they describe as a “typical instance of justice delayed, but not denied."

The 1990 Crime That Shocked Kashmir

Sarla Bhat, a resident of Anantnag, worked at the Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS) in Soura, Srinagar. Defying threats from armed terrorists who had ordered Kashmiri Pandits to leave the Valley, she chose to continue her service at the hospital’s Habba Khatoon Hostel.

On April 18, 1990, she was abducted from the hostel by terrorists affiliated with the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF). The next morning, her bullet-riddled body was found at Umar Colony, Mallabagh, Soura. A handwritten note was placed beside her remains falsely accusing her of being a police informant.

An FIR (No. 56/1990) was registered at Police Station Nigeen, but the investigation made little headway. According to officials, the climate of fear and intimidation during the insurgency meant witnesses were unwilling to come forward, while local police faced severe constraints in pursuing militant-linked cases.

Targeted for Defiance

Sources familiar with the case say Sarla’s killing was part of a broader pattern of targeted violence aimed at forcing the Kashmiri Pandit community to flee the Valley during the early 1990s. Her decision to stay and work in defiance of terrorists’ diktats made her a target.

“She openly challenged JKLF’s threats, refusing to abandon her duty or her home. That defiance marked her out in the eyes of the terrorists," one senior investigator told CNN-News18.

Even after her death, her family faced intimidation. Locals sympathetic to the militants allegedly warned them against participating in her cremation, forcing them to perform the last rites under fear.

Case Transferred to SIA

For years, the case lay unresolved. Last year, on orders from the competent authorities, the investigation was transferred from local police to the SIA — the premier counter-terror agency of Jammu & Kashmir. The move, officials say, was part of Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha’s push to re-examine unsolved cases of targeted killings from the insurgency’s peak years.

The SIA’s latest searches are part of this renewed effort. While officials declined to disclose the nature of the recovered evidence, they confirmed it will play a “pivotal role" in piecing together the events of April 1990 and identifying the individuals who carried out and planned the attack.

Justice After Decades

Top sources emphasise that the probe is not merely symbolic. “This is about sending a message — no matter how much time has passed, the state will pursue justice for terror victims," one official said.

For Sarla Bhat’s family, and for many displaced Kashmiri Pandits, the hope is that the long wait for accountability may finally be nearing an end.

Manoj Gupta

Group Editor, Investigations & Security Affairs, Network18

Group Editor, Investigations & Security Affairs, Network18

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First Published:

August 12, 2025, 10:19 IST

News india Justice After 35 Years: SIA J&K Reopens Probe Into 1990 Killing Of Kashmiri Pandit Nurse

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