Jammu (Jammu and Kashmir) [India], August 12 (ANI): Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Ravinder Raina on Tuesday welcomed the raids by the Special Investigation Agency (SIA) on eight locations in Srinagar in the Sarla Bhat abduction and murder case, stating that her soul will now rest in peace after 35 years.

Ravinder Raina stated that the SIA on Tuesday carried out searches at eight locations in Srinagar, including the residence of Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) chief Yasin Malik, claiming that he admitted his involvement in terror activities.

'Kashmir's brave daughter, Sarla Bhat, who worked in the health department, was brutally murdered by JKLF terrorists at SKIMS hospital on 19 April 1990. After 35 years, the hearing of her case has resumed. The state investigating agency, SIA, has conducted raids on several locations, including the house of JKLF leader Yasin Malik, who admitted that his organisation was involved in various terror incidents. Many documents and pieces of evidence were found at his house, which may let Sarla's soul rest in peace after 35 years,' Ravinder Raina told ANI.

According to an SIA press release, the case pertains to the killing of a Kashmiri Pandit, Sarla Bhat, a nurse at SKIMS Soura, who was brutally killed by terrorists 36 years ago. These strategic searches, which were conducted at 8 locations throughout District Srinagar, have resulted in the recovery of some incriminating evidence, which will help in unearthing the whole terrorist conspiracy with the ultimate aim of delivering justice to the victim and her family.

Following the raids, BJP leader Amit Malviya condemned the 1990 killing of Sarla Bhat, describing it as part of the ethnic cleansing of Kashmiri Pandits.

He claimed that Bhatt was allegedly abducted from her workplace in April 1990 during the peak of militancy in Kashmir and was allegedly 'tortured, gang-raped, mutilated and killed', with her 'body cut into pieces' and dumped to 'instil terror'.

In a post on X, the BJP leader wrote, 'Sarla Bhatt, a young Kashmiri Pandit nurse at the Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences in Srinagar, was brutally murdered in April 1990 during the peak of militancy in Kashmir. Armed militants abducted her from her workplace, took her to an unknown location, and subjected her to horrific torture. She was gang-raped, mutilated, and killed -- her body cut into pieces and dumped to instil terror.'

'Her murder was not just a heinous crime but part of the targeted campaign of ethnic cleansing against Kashmiri Pandits, aimed at driving the Hindu minority out of the Valley. Sarla Bhatt's killing remains one of the most chilling reminders of the atrocities that triggered the mass exodus of Kashmiri Pandits in 1990,' Malviya added.

Meanwhile, Chairperson of the Jammu and Kashmir Waqf Board and BJP leader Darakhshan Andrabi welcomed the reopening of the case.

She told ANI, 'The families who lost their children through militancy in the last 35 years were given justice by the LG administration after 35 years, and today a wave of justice is going on through the administration. If the government has reopened the file, it is right... Wherever there has been injustice, it is important to serve justice...' (ANI)