Yasin Malik Named Main Accused In 1990 Murder Of Kashmiri Pandit Nurse Sarla Bhat

Srinagar: The State Investigation Agency (SIA) on Monday filed an over 700-page chargesheet naming banned JKLF chief Yasin Malik as the key accused in the kidnapping and brutal killing of young Kashmiri Pandit nurse Sarla Bhat by terrorists in April 1990. The agency described it as a "historic milestone" in the pursuit of justice for victims of terrorism.

The SIA, which reopened the case after it was handed over in 2024, submitted the chargesheet before the designated NIA court here, 36 years after Bhat, working as a nurse at Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS) Soura, was found dead in downtown Srinagar, several kilometres away, a day after she went missing.

Besides Malik, who was the self-styled commander-in-chief of the JKLF terrorist outfit at that time, his four accomplices -- Khursheed Ahmad Chalkoo, Abdul Hamid Sheikh, Ghulam Mohammad Taploo and Mohammad Yousuf Sofi -- have also been named as accused in the case. Chalkoo is believed to be living in Pakistan after exfiltrating from Kashmir.