J&K agencies reopen militancy-era cases amid arrests and renewed push for justice
Srinagar: Authorities in Jammu and Kashmir are considering advanced forensic techniques, including DNA analysis, to crack the decades-old cold case of Sarla Bhat, a Kashmiri Pandit nurse abducted and murdered in 1990 amid rising militancy.
Investigators believe modern DNA technology could identify perpetrators if biological evidence from the crime scene—such as blood, hair, or skin cells—was preserved properly. Advances in forensic genetic genealogy have solved numerous global cold cases, and sources indicate preserved samples from Bhat's case may enable breakthroughs in establishing the crime and linking suspects.
Bhat, a 27-year-old staff nurse at Srinagar's Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS), was kidnapped from her hostel on April 18, 1990. Her bullet-riddled body was recovered the next day in downtown Srinagar, bearing signs of torture and sexual assault. A note pinned to her body labelled her a “police informant.”.
The case, registered as FIR No. 56/1990 at Srinagar’s Nigeen Police Station, remained unsolved for over three decades. The State Investigation Agency (SIA) took over the probe in 2024, intensifying efforts with raids on August 12 this year, at eight locations across Srinagar. These targeted residences linked to former members of the proscribed Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF), including associates of jailed leader Muhammad Yasin Malik. The SIA recovered incriminating evidence during the searches, aimed at unravelling the “terrorist conspiracy” and delivering justice to Bhat's family and the Kashmiri Pandit community.
This revival aligns with Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha's administration's push to reopen “deliberately buried” militancy-era cases. In July, Sinha directed officials to prioritise unresolved killings, file fresh FIRs where needed, provide jobs to victims' next-of-kin, and reclaim seized properties. Special cells were set up to support terror-affected families, which, officials claimed, reflected a commitment to accountability after years of perceived inaction.
A 2008 J&K Police report recorded 209 Kashmiri Pandit killings since 1989, with 109 in 1990 alone, and chargesheets filed in only a fraction of cases. Pandit groups assert higher figures, viewing Bhat's murder as emblematic of the targetted violence that displaced over tens of thousands of community members. While no arrests have been reported yet in Bhat's case, the potential use of DNA testing offers fresh hope for resolution.
In a significant development amid the government’s push to resolve long-pending militancy-era cases, the police early this week arrested two prominent former separatist leaders—Javed Ahmad Mir, a one-time commander of the JKLF, and Shakeel Ahmad Bakshi, chief of the Islamic Students League—in connection with a 1996 case involving "rioting, mob violence, and violations" under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and Arms Act.
Bakshi was detained on December 8, while Javed Mir was arrested the following day from his residence in Zaina Kadal area of Srinagar by the Shergarhi Police Station personnel. The arrests stem from FIR No. 192/1996 registered at Shergarhi Police Station, related to the Naaz Crossing violence in Srinagar, where a mob allegedly provoked clashes nearly three decades ago.
The case originally named several high-profile separatist figures, including the late Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Abdul Gani Lone, and Mohammad Yaqoob Wakil, as well as Shabir Ahmed Shah and Nayeem Khan (both currently imprisoned in separate terror funding cases). Officials described the move as part of efforts to conclude unresolved investigations from the 1990s peak of militancy, allowing for chargesheets to be filed.
Mir was among the HAJY group, a prominent JKLF militant quartet, before transitioning to separatist politics. Bakshi, known for student mobilisation and protests, had briefly aligned with the Hurriyat Conference.
Critics worry about broader implications for rehabilitated former militants, but officials emphasise evidence-based pursuits to "heal historical wounds and uphold the rule of law" in the Union Territory.
As the arrests have drawn criticism from separatist circles, Kashmir’s chief Muslim cleric and chairman of Hurriyat Conference, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, speaking from Srinagar's Jama Masjid on December 12, urged the government to halt detentions in decades-old cases, warning of growing anxiety among those who have disengaged from violence. He called for transferring detainees to J&K jails for humane treatment.
The Mirwaiz said, “There is deep concern among people over the developments taking place in which individuals are being arrested in connection with decades-old cases. This has created a lot of anxiety and uncertainty, especially among those persons and their families who have long since disengaged from past paths”. He added, “Already thousands of Kashmiri prisoners are languishing in jails in and outside J&K, some for decades, causing immense suffering to their families, arresting more and more people only adds to the woes and pain of Kashmiris.”
He, drawing attention to the “serious humanitarian and legal concerns” arising from the continued detention of Kashmiris in prisons outside the Union Territory, said that such practices often result in delays in trial proceedings and severely limit family access, running contrary to basic principles of humane treatment and natural justice.”
Seeking intervention by the Omar Abdullah government, he urged it to “stop the continuing process of arrests and detention of individuals who have moved on and are not associated with any form of violence in decades”. The Mirwaiz called for a review of the handling of such old cases and appealed for the transfer of detainees back to J&K to “ensure a fairer, faster, and more compassionate process of justice”.
