Srinagar, June 29: The State Investigation Agency (SIA) on Monday filed a 737-page chargesheet naming banned JKLF chief Yasin Malik as the principal accused in the abduction and brutal killing of Kashmiri Pandit nurse Sarla Bhat in April 1990, describing the development as a major milestone in the pursuit of justice for victims of terrorism.
The chargesheet was filed before a designated NIA court in Srinagar, nearly 36 years after Bhat, a nurse at Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS), Soura, was abducted and later found dead in downtown Srinagar.
Besides Malik, the chargesheet names four alleged associates—Khursheed Ahmad Chalkoo, Abdul Hamid Sheikh, Ghulam Mohammad Taploo, and Mohammad Yousuf Sofi alias Idrees. According to the SIA, Chalkoo is believed to have exfiltrated to Pakistan, while the other three co-accused are deceased.
The accused have been charged under multiple provisions of the Ranbir Penal Code (RPC), the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act (TADA), 1987, and the Indian Arms Act, 1959.
The SIA said the case, reopened in March 2024, involved an extensive investigation over the past two years, including raids and the collection of oral, documentary, forensic, ballistic, medical, and electronic evidence.
In a statement, the agency said the filing of the chargesheet sends a clear message that “time can never become a shield for terrorism” and that those responsible for terrorist crimes will continue to be held accountable regardless of the passage of time.
The investigation concluded that Malik, then the self-styled Chief Commander of the JKLF, along with his associates, allegedly planned and executed the abduction and killing of Sarla Bhat. Malik is currently in judicial custody in another case, while proclamation proceedings have been initiated against absconding accused Khursheed Ahmad Chalkoo.
According to the SIA, the accused have been booked under Sections 364, 341, 302, 201 and 120-B of the RPC, relevant provisions of TADA, and Sections 7 and 27 of the Indian Arms Act.
