After reopening the investigation into the brutal murder of Kashmiri Hindu woman Sarla Bhatt by the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) terrorists, the J&K State Investigation Agency (SIA) raided multiple locations linked to JKLF terrorists in Srinagar on Tuesday (12th August).
As part of the investigation, the SIA raided 8 locations, including the house of JKLF terrorists Yasin Malik, who was convicted of criminal conspiracy and waging war against India, and properties linked to terrorists Javed Nalka, Peer Noor ul Haq Shah, Abdul Hamid Sheikh, Bashir Ahmad Gojri, Feroz Ahmad Khan & Ghulam Mohammad Taploo.
#BREAKING: After 35 years J&K Police SIA reopens rape and murder case of Kashmiri Hindu nurse Sarla Bhat in Kashmir.
— Aditya Raj Kaul (@AdityaRajKaul) August 12, 2025
SIA raids underway at 8 locations in central Kashmir's Srinagar. House of Jailed JKLF terrorist Yasin Malik, Javed Nalka. Peer Noor ul Haq Shah, Abdul Hamid… pic.twitter.com/D3vvR3pIGC
Who was Sarla Bhatt?
Sarla Bhatt was a 27-year-old Kashmiri Hindu woman from Anantnag, who used to work as a nurse at the Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS) in Srinagar. She was abducted by the JKLF terrorists from Habba Khatoon Hostel in April 1990. Later on, her bullet-ridden body was found lying in Umar Colony, Mallabagh, downtown Srinagar. A note was also reportedly found lying near her body, branding her as a ‘police informer’. According to media reports, her body bore signs of extreme torture before her killing. A case was registered at Nigeen Police Station; however, no progress was made in the case for over three decades before SIA took over the investigation.
The incident occurred at the peak of Islamic terrorism in J&K. Her murder was one of the first cases of killings of Kashmiri Hindus by Jihadists, which kick-started the mass exodus of Hindus from the valley in the 1990s. Before her, Islamic terrorists killed several Kashmiri Pandits, including Girja Tickoo, who worked as a laboratory assistant in a university in the Kashmir Valley, Pandit Tika Lal Taploo, who was an advocate and senior BJP leader, and Pandit Neelkanth Ganjoo, who was a former judge.
The forced exodus of Kashmiri Hindus that started in January 1990 was not a sudden event. The exodus was the culmination of a longstanding intention to purge the Valley of its Hindu population, planned and executed by radical Islamic elements. The terrifying slogan, “Raliv, Galiv ya Chaaliv” (convert, leave, or perish), echoed in the Valley’s air for years to drive out Kashmiri Hindus. Lakhs of Kashmiri Pandits, who had to flee from their homes, leaving everything behind, to save their lives and the honour of their women. Justice still evades them.
