Yasin Malik seeks death penalty in Sarla Bhat murder case, Decides to separate from Pakistani wife Mushaal

Srinagar: Jailed Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) terrorist Yasin Malik has decided not to contest the trial proceedings in the 1990 killing of Kashmiri Hindu nurse Sarla Bhat and has instead asked the court to award him capital punishment. In a separate message submitted along with his statement, Malik has also announced his decision to separate from his Pakistani wife, Mushaal Hussein Mullick, reports said.

 

As per reports, Malik submitted a 25-page statement before the Additional Sessions Judge (TADA/POTA) and Special Judge designated under the NIA Act in Srinagar through his counsel, Advocate Abu Adil Pandit. The matter has been listed for the prosecution’s reply on September 19.

 

While Malik maintained that he had been falsely implicated in the case, he said that after “deep reflection” and Istikhara, he has decided not to contest the proceedings further.

 

 

 

He, however, made it clear that his decision should not be treated as an admission of guilt or acceptance of the allegations against him. At the same time, he requested the court to impose capital punishment on him.

 

The case relates to the abduction and killing of Sarla Bhat (27), who was working as a nurse at the Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS). Bhat was abducted and killed by terrorists on April 18, 1990, and her body was later recovered from downtown area of Srinagar.

 

In June, the State Investigation Agency (SIA) filed a 737-page charge sheet in the case, naming Malik along with Khurshid Ahmad Chalkoo, Abdul Hamid Sheikh, Mohammad Yousuf Sofi and Ghulam Mohammad Taploo as accused.

 

Malik has denied any involvement in Bhat’s killing. In his statement, he claimed that he came to know about the murder months after it took place while he was in judicial custody.

 

He also questioned the prosecution’s reliance on an alleged handwritten JKLF note recovered from the crime scene. Malik rejected the allegation that Bhat was targeted for allegedly working as an informer for security forces, saying she was an innocent civilian.

 

He further questioned why his name did not figure in the investigation conducted at the time of the killing.

 

 

In a separate personal message included in the same submission, Malik announced his decision to separate from his wife, Mushaal Hussein Mullick, whom he married in Pakistan in 2009.

 

According to reports, Malik said he did not want Mushaal to spend the rest of her life carrying the burden of his circumstances or living as his widow. He urged her to start a new chapter of her life with dignity and hope.

 

Malik also expressed his love for Mushaal and their daughter, Raziya Sultana.

 

 

Malik has been in custody since 2019 in connection with a 2017 terror-funding case and was sentenced to life imprisonment by a Delhi court in 2022 after pleading guilty to the charges. He also faces ongoing trials in several other cases, including the 1989 kidnapping of Rubaiya Sayeed and the 1990 killing of four Indian Air Force personnel by terrorists in Srinagar.

(With inputs from agencies)