Mushaal Hussein Mullick, wife of Kashmiri leader Yasin Malik, strongly criticized the Indian State Investigation Agency’s (SIA) recent decision to implicate her husband in the decades-old murder case of a nurse in Srinagar. The SIA submitted a detailed 737-page charge sheet to a special Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act (TADA) court, accusing Malik of involvement in the April 1990 killing of Sarla Bhat, a nurse from the Kashmiri Pandit community.
The case, which had remained inactive for nearly 36 years, was reopened following directives from former lieutenant governor Manoj Sinha, responding to demands from Kashmiri Pandit groups. Mullick described this move as a clear example of political retribution and a disregard for legal principles.
She argued that reviving such an old case without credible physical evidence is a deliberate tactic aimed at permanently silencing Malik and isolating him from his supporters. Mullick highlighted the absurdity of the charge sheet, noting that it includes names of individuals who have been deceased for decades, indicating that the case is a fabricated narrative intended for judicial persecution rather than a genuine legal process.
Calling on the international community to intervene, she warned that continued silence only encourages authoritarian actions and amounts to a planned judicial assassination. Mullick emphasized that Yasin Malik had shifted to a peaceful, democratic struggle long ago, yet he faces ongoing isolation, denial of a fair trial, and the threat of the death penalty merely for representing Kashmiri aspirations. She urged global actors to demand an immediate halt to these contrived legal proceedings and to pressure India to safeguard Malik’s life and fundamental human rights, cautioning that failure to do so could further destabilize the region.
Regarding the Sarla Bhat case, the SIA concluded that her murder was part of a larger terrorist conspiracy allegedly directed by the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF), rather than an isolated incident. The investigation accused Malik, along with Khurshid Ahmad Chalkoo, Abdul Hamid Sheikh, Mohammad Yousuf Sofi, and Ghulam Mohammad Taploo, of planning and executing Bhat’s abduction and murder. the agency, Bhat was kidnapped, tortured, physically assaulted, and ultimately shot dead in Srinagar.
Among the accused, three have passed away, while Chalkoo is reported to have fled to Azad Jammu and Kashmir. Malik, who was sentenced to life imprisonment in 2022 in a separate terror funding case, remains incarcerated in Tihar Jail. Police hailed the charge sheet as a significant breakthrough in addressing legacy terrorism cases, emphasizing that the evidence compiled over decades—including oral testimonies, documents, forensic, ballistic, medical, and electronic data—demonstrates that perpetrators of terrorist acts can still be held accountable despite the passage of time.
In May 2022, Malik was sentenced to life imprisonment by a New Delhi court after being convicted under anti-terrorism laws. During the trial, Malik stated that he had abandoned armed struggle in the 1990s and had not engaged in violence since. The court imposed two life sentences along with five concurrent 10-year prison terms. His conviction occurred amid the ongoing conflict in Indian-administered Kashmir.
