Kochi: Yasin Malik, former militant leader, and four others were on Monday indicted as the mastermind behind the abduction, torture and murder of nurse Sarla Bhat in 1990.
A 737-page chargesheet filed by the State Investigation Agency (SIA) in Kashmir named Yasin Malik as the mastermind, NDTV reported.
Sarla Bhat, 36, a staff nurse at the Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS) in Srinagar was abducted from near her hospital, tortured and shot dead with an automatic rifle at Omer Colony, Malbagh on April 18, 1990, morning.
The chargesheet, filed before a special TADA/POTA court in Srinagar, also named Chief Commander terrorist of the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF).
Prominent professionals like lawyer Tikka Lal Taploo, High Court Judge Justice Neelkanth Ganjoo, poet Sarwanand Kaul Premi, broadcaster Lassa Kaul, were murdered in quick succession to terrorise an entire community.
The case was transferred to SIA J&K in March 2024 under orders from the J&K DGP.
The evidence include testimony from elderly witnesses, forensic material, ballistic analysis, documentary records and electronic evidence.
The investigation was led under the supervision of senior IPS officer Nitish Kumar, presently ADG CID/SIA, Jammu and Kashmir.
Malik, who renounced violence in 1994,
was sentenced to life term after he
pleaded guilty to multiple charges of criminal conspiracy and waging war against them in May 2022.
Photo: X
