Sarla Bhatt was a 27-year-old Kashmiri Pandit from Anantnag, working as a nurse at the Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS) in Soura, Srinagar. Her story is one of defiant courage in the face of rising militancy. In 1990, as the Kashmir Valley spiraled into violence and fear, a campaign of intimidation was launched by Pakistan-backed terrorist groups like the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF). Kashmiri Pandits were threatened and ordered to abandon their jobs and homes.
While many from her community fled, Sarla Bhat chose to stay, refusing to bow to the terrorists’ diktats. Her act of defiance, however, came at a heavy price. On April 18, 1990, she was abducted from her hostel Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS) in Srinagar. According to reports, she was subjected to gang rape and horrific torture before being shot multiple times. Her bullet-riddled body was discovered the following morning. The killers left a chilling note on her body, labeling her a “police informant,” a common tactic used to justify the targeted killings of Kashmiri Pandits. The incident was a powerful and tragic statement from the militants, aimed at instilling fear and forcing the remaining Pandits to flee.
Following her murder, a First Information Report (FIR No. 56/1990) was registered at the Nigeen Police Station, but the case went cold for decades. The lack of progress in the investigation and the perceived apathy of the authorities left a deep wound in the Kashmiri Pandit community, reinforcing their sense of abandonment. However, the State Investigation Agency (SIA), which was formed to fast-track terror-related cases, recently took over the investigation.
According to an SIA press release, they carried out searches at eight locations in Srinagar in connection with the 1990 abduction and killing of Kashmiri Pandit nurse Sarla Bhat. These strategic searches, which were conducted at 8 locations throughout District Srinagar, have resulted in the recovery of some incriminating evidence, which will help in unearthing the whole terrorist conspiracy with the ultimate aim of delivering justice to the victim and her family.
The reopening of this case is particularly significant given the history of failed attempts to secure justice for Kashmiri Pandits. In 2017, the Supreme Court of India dismissed a petition to investigate the killings of hundreds of Pandits, citing the passage of time and the unlikelihood of finding evidence. A curative petition by the organization “Roots in Kashmir” was also rejected in 2023. These dismissals left many in the community feeling that their suffering had been forgotten.
However, the current Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha’s administration has signaled a new direction. Following the Supreme Court’s second dismissal, the administration took the bold step of reopening the 1989 murder case of Judge Ganjoo, who had sentenced JKLF founder Mohammad Maqbool Bhat to death. The reopening of Sarla Bhat’s case is seen as a continuation of this effort to address the historical injustices faced by Kashmiri Pandits.
According to a 2008 report by the J&K Police, militants killed 209 Kashmiri Pandits from 1989 onwards, with 109 of those killings occurring in 1990 alone. The report also revealed a grim reality: out of 140 registered cases, chargesheets were filed in only 24, leaving the perpetrators in 115 cases unidentified. Kashmiri Pandit groups, however, claim the number of victims is much higher.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Ravinder Raina welcomed the raids by the Special Investigation Agency (SIA) on eight locations in Srinagar in the Sarla Bhat abduction and murder case, stating that her soul will now rest in peace after 35 years.
Ravinder Raina stated that the SIA on August 12 carried out searches at eight locations in Srinagar, including the residence of Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) chief Yasin Malik, claiming that he admitted his involvement in terror activities.
“Kashmir’s brave daughter, Sarla Bhat, who worked in the health department, was brutally murdered by JKLF terrorists at SKIMS hospital on 19 April 1990. After 35 years, the hearing of her case has resumed. The state investigating agency, SIA, has conducted raids on several locations, including the house of JKLF leader Yasin Malik, who admitted that his organisation was involved in various terror incidents. Many documents and pieces of evidence were found at his house, which may let Sarla’s soul rest in peace after 35 years,” Ravinder Raina told ANI.
BJP IT cell head Amit Malviya denounced the killing of Bhatt and stated that, “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.”
Sarla Bhatt, a young Kashmiri Pandit nurse at the Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences in Srinagar, was brutally murdered in April 1990 during the peak of militancy in Kashmir. Armed militants abducted her from her workplace, took her to an unknown location, and subjected… https://t.co/8inBZfdQgx
— Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) August 12, 2025
The decision to reopen Sarla Bhat’s case and others like it signals a determination to hold the perpetrators of these crimes accountable.
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