Srinagar15 minutes agoAuthor: Rauf Dar
The Jammu and Kashmir State Investigation Agency (SIA) has reopened the investigation into the 1998 Wandhama massacre. According to reports, 23 Kashmiri Pandits were killed in the massacre, including nine women and four children.
According to sources, the SIA has conducted searches at several locations across the Kashmir Valley to gather evidence related to the case.
The agency is also reinvestigating other cases involving the killings of Kashmiri Pandits, including the murders of Kashmiri Pandit leader Tika Lal Taploo and Justice Neelkanth Ganjoo.
The investigating agency is trying to identify the terrorists and the overground workers involved in the attacks and determine their roles.
History of these killings
1. The Wandhama massacre
The Wandhama massacre took place on the night of January 25, 1998, in Wandhama village of Ganderbal. Armed terrorists allegedly entered the homes of Kashmiri Pandit families and killed 23 people. The attack took place a day before Republic Day.
It was also the holy Ramadan night of Shab-e-Qadr. The case remained unsolved for decades. The SIA is now re-examining old records, suspects and the roles of people linked to the attack.
The terrorists had gathered Kashmiri Pandits at one place and opened fire.
2. Killings of Tika Lal Taploo and Justice Ganjoo killings
According to sources, the SIA has conducted searches at several locations in the Kashmir Valley in connection with the killing of Tika Lal Taploo. The investigation into the killing of Justice Neelkanth Ganjoo has also been intensified.
The agency aims to identify the terrorists involved in these old cases, as well as alleged overground workers who assisted them, and determine their respective roles in the attacks.
3. Sarla Bhat murder case
The SIA had earlier reopened the 1990 murder case of Kashmiri Pandit nurse Sarla Bhat. In June, the agency filed a 737-page chargesheet in the case, naming jailed JKLF chief Yasin Malik as the alleged mastermind behind the killing.
The SIA has also conducted investigations and searches in connection with the killings of Kashmiri Pandit writer Sarwanand Kaul Premi and his son Virendra Kaul. The reopening of these old cases is part of efforts to investigate pending cases of targeted killings during the period of terrorism in the Valley.
4. Killings of Sarwanand Koul Premi and his son
The SIA has also conducted searches and investigated the killing of Kashmiri Pandit writer Sarwanand Koul Premi and his son, Virendra Koul.
In 1990, armed militants allegedly abducted them from their home in Sof Shali, Anantnag. Their bodies were found hanging from a tree on May 1, 1990.
The case is among the prominent incidents of targeted killings of Kashmiri Pandits during the early years of militancy in the Valley.
