Why charge sheet in Pandit Sarla Bhat’s killing a milestone for J&K police? | Explained

The story so far: After a gap of 36 years, the State Investigation Agency (SIA), the special cell of the J&K Police, has filed a chargesheet in the murder of Kashmiri Pandit Sarla Bhat, who worked as a nurse at Srinagar’s Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS). The indictment states that Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) chief Yasin Malik is among the five defendants. Only two of the five defendants, including Malik, are still alive. SIA, which started re-investigating the case in 2020, decided to initiate a public hearing against the escaped terrorist “man who pulled the trigger” Khurshid Ahmed Chalkoo. He is believed to have infiltrated Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (POK). By the way, there is no mention of any rape in the SIA charge.

What is the significance of this case?

The murder of the 27-year-old Pandit nurse was among the first cases of targeted killings of Kashmiri Pandits in the Valley after the 1989 armed insurgency. According to the official list, the first Pandit murder took place on September 14, 1989, by Pandit Tika Lal Taploo, a lawyer and senior BJP leader, and Pandit Neelkanth Ganjoo, a former judge who later convicted JKLF founder Maqbool. Bhat to death in a murder case. These targeted killings eventually led to mass exodus of Kashmiri Pandits out of the Kashmir valley. SIA said Sarla Bhat was abducted from the vicinity of SKIMS on April 18, 1990, subjected to brutal torture and physical assault and was gruesomely murdered by automatic rifle fire at Omer Colony, Malbagh, Srinagar. The filing of the indictment is seen by the family and the entire Pandit community as a step towards justice. The extent of migration triggered by militant violence can be gauged from the fact that as of 2014, more than 60,452 Pandits had registered themselves as migrants, shifting the community to different parts of the country, including Jammu, the winter capital of J&K.

Why was there a delay in the indictment?

Kashmir witnessed targeted killings of both Muslims, mostly affiliated with the National Conference (NC), and Pandits in the 1990s. Hundreds of local youth militants joined their ranks and began attacking security forces across the Valley. However, the group’s violence decreased after JKLF chief Malik declared a unilateral ceasefire in 1994. No case was pursued against Malik as part of an unwritten agreement between the JKLF and the then Central governments. An indication of this was that in 2009, the Srinagar wing of the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities Act (TADA) court ordered a stay of hearings and a “stay” in two important cases facing Malik, including the killing of Indian Air Force men in Srinagar’s Rawalpora area and the abduction of former Union minister Mufti Muhammad Sayeed’s daughter in 1989. On reopening of the case, SIA said that “the issue remains unresolved due to extraordinary circumstances prevailing during the peak years of terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir. The atmosphere of fear, intimidation and terror created by terrorist organizations has seriously affected the ability of witnesses to come forward and reveal material facts.” In its charge sheet, SIA said that the Sarla Bhat case has become one of the symbols of the dark page of terrorism that engulfed the Kashmir Valley.

What does this mean for JKLF chief Malik?

The 59-year-old separatist is currently in Tihar Jail. He faces two life sentences and five 10-year sentences in the terrorist financing case in 2022. However, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) sought death penalty in the case. Additionally, Malik is also facing new charges in two other major cases, including kidnapping and Indian Air Force attack. His outfit was also banned under the provisions of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) in 2019. JKLF distanced itself from Bhat’s murder. According to the banned JKLF, Malik jumped from a five-storey building in Narwara, Srinagar, to escape arrest during a BSF raid on April 8, 1990, just 10 days before Bhat’s gruesome murder. JKLF claimed that Malik suffered head trauma in the incident, causing facial paralysis. JKLF claimed that the organization had launched its own investigations into the murder but “was unable to progress the investigation due to security forces’ ongoing raids on JKLF leaders.” The truth is that this will be the third major terrorism case filed against Malik in the 1990s, and if the charges are proven in court, Malik could face the death penalty.

Why is it being cited as a landmark development by the police?

The SIA of Police termed the charge sheet as a landmark development and a defining moment in J&K’s fight against terrorism. The 737-page indictment was compiled following “a comprehensive investigation that brought together a wealth of oral, documentary, forensic, ballistic, medical and electronic evidence accumulated over decades and meticulously analyzed.” It is stated that the indictment marks a historical turning point in the search for justice for victims of terrorism and is one of the most important breakthroughs in the investigation of old terrorist crimes in Jammu and Kashmir. SIA said the indictment sent a strong and clear message that time could never be a shield for terrorism. He said neither the memory of the victim nor the quest for justice fades with time. It stated that the evidence collected during the investigation showed that the murder was part of the JKLF’s systematic campaign of targeted terrorist violence aimed at spreading fear among innocent civilians, especially members of the Kashmiri Pandit community, creating conditions for their forced displacement from the Kashmir Valley and furthering the separatist agenda of the terrorist organisation. At no time can secrecy or geographical distance permanently protect perpetrators from accountability. This is also a testament to SIA Kashmir and the Government of India’s unwavering determination to uncover the truth behind even the oldest unsolved terrorist crimes and hold those responsible accountable. It sends a powerful and unfailing message that terrorism has no statute of limitations, that justice has a long memory, and that the law will eventually catch up with those who believe they can escape accountability through fear, violence, or the passage of time.