The Jammu and Kashmir State Investigation Agency (SIA) launched a series of raids in central Kashmir on August 12, targeting individuals associated with the banned Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) as part of its renewed probe into the 1990 murder of Sarla Bhat, a Kashmiri Pandit nurse. The operations focused on several residences linked to former JKLF members, including Peer Noorul Haq Shah (alias Air Marshal) and Yasin Malik, the former JKLF chief currently imprisoned at Tihar Jail for separatist activities. Yasin Malik's Maisuma residence in Srinagar was among the key sites searched.
Authorities revealed that eight locations across Srinagar were raided, all connected to either former JKLF commanders or ex-operatives. Homes of notable figures such as Javaid Ahmad Mir, Abdul Hamid Sheikh, Bashir Ahmad Gojri, and others associated with the proscribed group were also included in the search.
These actions stem from the SIA’s commitment to resolving historical crimes and are part of a broader initiative by the Lieutenant Governor's administration to reopen investigations into the killings of Kashmiri Pandits during the turbulent early 1990s. Sarla Bhat disappeared from her hostel at the Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences in April 1990; her body was later found in downtown Srinagar, showing evidence of gang rape, torture, and gunshot wounds, as confirmed by the post-mortem at the time. The reopened case is registered under several sections of the Ranbir Penal Code and the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act, underscoring the gravity with which the authorities are pursuing justice in these long-pending cases. Further details about the raids have not yet been disclosed, but officials assert that this marks a renewed drive to unearth the truth behind such atrocities.