Now Reading: Jammu and Kashmir SIA reopens 1998 Wandhama massacre case
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Jammu and Kashmir SIA reopens 1998 Wandhama massacre case
The Jammu and Kashmir State Investigation Agency (SIA) has reopened the 1998 Wandhama massacre case, 28 years after 23 Kashmiri Pandits were killed by gunmen in Ganderbal district. A 14-year-old was the…
The Jammu and Kashmir State Investigation Agency (SIA) has reopened the 1998 Wandhama massacre case, 28 years after 23 Kashmiri Pandits were killed by gunmen in Ganderbal district. A 14-year-old was the lone survivor. The agency has also reopened the 1990 killing of writer Sarwanand Koul Premi and his son.
The SIA conducted raids at multiple locations in the valley on August 12 in connection with the cases. This is part of a wider push to pursue long-pending targeted killings from the peak of militancy. Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha announced on June 29 that cases where families had not received justice would be reopened, and directed officials to file FIRs and ensure jobs for kin.
Indian Opinion Analysis
The reopening of cases from the 1990s marks a shift in investigative focus decades after militancy peaked in the valley. Under the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019, which followed the abrogation of Article 370, the SIA was created as a dedicated agency to handle terrorism-related probes. The cases being revived, including the Wandhama massacre and the killing of Sarwanand Koul Premi, had previously been with the CBI or local police without convictions. The government's stated intent is to deliver closure to families, but the practical challenge will be assembling evidence and testimony nearly three decades later, when many witnesses have aged or left the valley. The next step will be how quickly the SIA can file charge sheets and whether it can secure arrests of suspects who remain at large.
Source: hindustantimes.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
