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Yasin Malik Challenges Evidence in Sarla Bhat Murder Case
Sarla Bhat was a nurse who was killed in Kashmir in April 1990.
The State Investigation Agency has filed a chargesheet against Yasin Malik and four other people.
Investigators say Bhat was killed because militants believed she had helped security forces find their hideout.
They also refer to a handwritten note that allegedly claimed responsibility for the killing.
Malik says he did not order or take part in the crime.
He says he was badly injured and unconscious after a security-force raid around the same time.
He also says he only learned about Bhat’s death in February 1991.
Malik questions why the note was not used when he was arrested in 1990 and says he was falsely implicated.
The State Investigation Agency named Yasin Malik and four others in a chargesheet over Sarla Bhat’s 1990 abduction and killing.
Malik denies ordering or participating in the murder of the 27-year-old Kashmiri Pandit nurse.
The agency relies partly on a purported handwritten Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front note allegedly recovered at the scene.
Malik questions why the note surfaced 36 years later and was absent from cases filed after his August 1990 arrest.
The prosecution alleges Bhat was killed after being accused of informing security forces about a JKLF hideout, while Malik rejects that motive.
- Who
- The State Investigation Agency has named Yasin Malik and four others, including three deceased militants, in the killing of Sarla Bhat, a 27-year-old Kashmiri Pandit nurse.
- What
- Malik has denied involvement and challenged the prosecution’s account and the authenticity and delayed disclosure of a purported handwritten note.
- Where
- The case is before a court in Srinagar, and the alleged killing occurred in Kashmir.
- When
- Bhat was killed in April 1990; Malik says he learned of the killing in February 1991, and the chargesheet was filed on June 29.
- Why
- The prosecution alleges that the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front killed Bhat after accusing her of informing security forces about a militant hideout.
Prosecution’s allegations
Yasin Malik’s response
Motive for the killing
Prosecution’s allegations
The State Investigation Agency alleges that Bhat was killed after the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front believed she had informed security forces about its hideout, leading to a raid.
Yasin Malik’s response
Malik rejects the claim that Bhat was an informer or responsible for the April 8, 1990, raid at Narwara, calling the alleged motive baseless and unsupported by credible evidence.
Malik’s responsibility
Prosecution’s allegations
The chargesheet names Malik as a key accused in Bhat’s abduction and killing.
Yasin Malik’s response
Malik denies ordering, directing, orchestrating or participating in the murder, saying he was critically injured and unconscious after a raid around that time.
Handwritten note and timing
Prosecution’s allegations
The agency refers to a purported JKLF note allegedly recovered at the scene that claimed responsibility and mentioned Malik, Sheikh Abdul Hameed and Javid Mir.
Yasin Malik’s response
Malik questions why the note appeared 36 years later, why the named men were not previously implicated, and why the case was absent from the cases registered after his August 6, 1990, arrest.
Nature of the proceedings
Prosecution’s allegations
Officials described the chargesheet as a significant step toward justice for victims of terrorism and a breakthrough in investigating legacy terror crimes in Jammu and Kashmir.
Yasin Malik’s response
Malik says the proceedings arose from political circumstances and decisions and that he has been falsely implicated.
Key facts
- Victim
- Sarla Bhat, a 27-year-old Kashmiri Pandit nurse
- Main accused
- Yasin Malik, chairman of the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front
- Chargesheet
- The State Investigation Agency filed a 737-page chargesheet on June 29
- Other accused
- Four others were named, including three militants who are deceased
- Alleged evidence
- A purported handwritten Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front note allegedly recovered from the murder scene
- Malik’s account
- He says he was critically injured and unconscious after an April 8, 1990, Border Security Force raid and first learned of Bhat’s killing in February 1991
- Current custody
- Malik is lodged in Tihar jail and has been there since 2019, according to the reports
Quotes
Yasin Malik
Jailed chairman of the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front and accused in the Sarla Bhat murder case
“I wish to clarify that I have no complaint against this Hon’ble court or the prosecuting agencies. I respectfully state that, in my understanding, the present proceedings have arisen out of political circumstances and decisions and, I believe, I have been falsely implicated in the present case.”
indianexpress.com
“I do not want you to spend the rest of your life carrying the burden of my circumstances or living as a widow. I, therefore, request you to find the courage to begin a new chapter of your life with dignity and hope.”
indianexpress.com
Sources
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