Srinagar: Nearly three decades after the killing of 23 Kashmiri Pandits in Jammu and Kashmir’s Wandhama village, the State Investigation Agency (SIA) has reopened the investigation into the 1998 massacre. The move is part of a wider effort to revisit several long-pending cases involving targeted killings during the years of militancy in the Kashmir Valley.
The Wandhama massacre took place on January 25, 1998, in Ganderbal district. According to officials, terrorists entered the village and killed 23 members of Kashmiri Pandit families who had remained in the Valley despite the migration of many others during the early 1990s. The victims included nine women and four children.
The original case was registered at Ganderbal police station but remained unresolved for years. The fresh investigation will examine earlier records and available evidence while looking for new leads that could help establish the identities and roles of those involved. Officials said the agency is also examining the possible involvement of underground networks and over-ground workers connected with militancy-era killings.
The Wandhama investigation is not an isolated development. The SIA has been revisiting several cases involving Kashmiri Pandit victims, including the killings of BJP leader Tika Lal Taploo and former judge Neelkanth Ganjoo. The agency has also taken fresh action in the cases involving writer Sarwanand Koul Premi and his son Virender Koul.
A major development came earlier this year in the 1990 killing of Kashmiri Pandit nurse Sarla Bhat. On June 29, the SIA filed a 737-page chargesheet before a designated special court in Srinagar. The chargesheet names five accused, including jailed former Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) chief Mohammad Yasin Malik.
According to the investigation, Malik has been named as an alleged principal conspirator in the case. The other accused include Khurshid Ahmad Chalkoo, Abdul Hamid Sheikh, Mohammad Yousuf Sofi alias Idrees and Ghulam Mohammad Taploo. Some of the accused have since died, while proceedings have been initiated against those who remain available to face the law.
The chargesheet was prepared using witness statements, documentary material, forensic and ballistic reports, medical evidence, electronic records and other investigative findings, according to officials. The agency has described the filing as an important step in pursuing a case that had remained pending for decades.
The reopening of the Wandhama case, following the action in the Sarla Bhat case and other investigations, signals a renewed focus on unresolved crimes from Kashmir’s militancy period. For families who have waited for answers for years, the fresh probes could provide an opportunity to establish responsibility through the legal process.
The developments are also likely to keep the issue of justice for victims of militancy-era targeted killings at the centre of public and political discussion. The SIA has indicated that the investigations will continue to focus on identifying those responsible and gathering evidence that can stand up in court.
Reader Comments 0