The probe into the murder of a Kashmiri Pandit woman 35 years ago during the outbreak of militancy has been reopened with the State Investigation Agency carrying out raids on Tuesday at eight locations in central Kashmir linked to former members of the banned terrorist outfit Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front.
Sarla Bhat, a nurse, went missing from her hostel at Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences at Soura in April 1990 and was found dead in downtown Srinagar.
Officials said SIA, which recently took over the investigation of the case, conducted the raids at the residences of several persons who were formerly associated with the JKLF in connection with the murder.
Former JKLF leader Peer Noorul Haq Shah alias Air Marshal was among those whose houses were searched by the sleuths of the SIA.
"The strategic searches which were conducted at eight locations throughout District Srinagar have resulted in the recovery of some incriminating evidence which will help in unearthing the whole terrorist conspiracy with an ultimate aim to deliver justice to the victim and her family," the officials said.
The State Investigation Agency was constituted within the Jammu and Kashmir Police in November 2021 for speedy investigation and prosecution in terror-related cases as well as coordinating with central agencies.
In a post on X, Amit Malviya, who heads the BJP's information technology cell, said Bhat's killing remains one of the most chilling reminders of the atrocities that triggered the mass exodus of Kashmiri Pandits in 1990.
"Armed militants abducted her from her workplace, took her to an unknown location, and subjected her to horrific torture. She was gang-raped, mutilated, and killed, her body cut into pieces and dumped to instill terror."
"Her murder was not just a heinous crime but part of the targeted campaign of ethnic cleansing against Kashmiri Pandits, aimed at driving the Hindu minority out of the Valley," Malviya said.
