Sarla Bhat Murder Case Reopened: SIA Raids Target Jammu And Kashmir Liberation Front After 35 Years

Thirty-five years after the brutal murder of Sarla Bhat, a 27-year-old Kashmiri Pandit nurse, hope for justice rekindles for her family and the exiled Pandit community. On April 18, 1990, amidst targeted attacks driving the Kashmiri Pandit exodus, Sarla, who defied militant threats to serve at Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS) in Srinagar, was abducted from her hostel by Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) terrorists. Days later, her tortured, bullet-ridden body was found in downtown Srinagar, accompanied by a chilling note warning Pandits to flee. The 1990 killing, part of a campaign of ethnic cleansing that forced lakhs to abandon their homeland, went unresolved for decades. On August 12, 2025, the J&K State Investigation Agency (SIA) reignited the pursuit of justice, raiding eight locations in Srinagar, including the homes of jailed JKLF leader Yasin Malik and associates like Javed Nalka, Peer Noor ul Haq Shah, and others. Conducted under the Arms Act and TADA, these raids mark the Lieutenant Governor’s push to reopen cases of Pandit killings. BJP leaders like Ravinder Raina hailed the move, saying, “Justice delayed but not denied.” This video explores the renewed probe, the pain of the Pandit exodus, and the quest to hold perpetrators accountable for one of modern India’s darkest chapters.