Jammu and Kashmir resumes probe into 1998 Wandhama massacre that killed 23 Kashmiri Pandits
The agency has also intensified its investigation into the killings of prominent Kashmiri Pandit leader Tika Lal Taploo and Justice Neelkanth Ganjoo, according to sources.
PTC News Desk: The Jammu and Kashmir State Investigation Agency (SIA) has reopened the investigation into the 1998 Wandhama massacre that claimed lives of 23 Kashmiri Pandits. The resumption of investigation is part of a wider push to pursue long-pending cases of targeted killings during peak of militancy in the valley.
The agency has also intensified its investigation into the killings of prominent Kashmiri Pandit leader Tika Lal Taploo and Justice Neelkanth Ganjoo, according to sources.
The development comes after the State Investigation Agency (SIA) recently reopened the cases involving Kashmiri Pandit nurse Sarla Bhat and writer Sarwanand Koul Premi and his son, Virender Koul.
A few days ago, the SIA carried out searches at several locations across the Kashmir Valley in connection with the Wandhama massacre and Taploo's killing. Investigators are now trying to identify the terrorists and over-ground workers allegedly involved in these cases and determine their roles.
23 Kashmiri Pandits Killed in Wandhama
On January 25, 1998, heavily armed terrorists entered the homes of Kashmiri Pandit families in Wandhama village in Ganderbal district and killed 23 people, including nine women and four children.
The massacre took place on the eve of Republic Day and during Shab-e-Qadr, one of the holiest nights of Ramzan.
The case remained unsolved for many years. The fresh investigation is part of the SIA's wider effort to reopen old militancy-related cases that have remained pending.
The agency's renewed focus comes after action in other Kashmiri Pandit murder cases. In June, the SIA filed a 737-page chargesheet in the 1990 murder of Sarla Bhat, naming jailed JKLF chief Yasin Malik as the alleged mastermind.
In August, the agency also conducted searches at nine locations in Jammu and Kashmir in connection with the killings of writer Sarwanand Koul Premi and his son Virender Koul.
Taploo and Ganjoo Cases Also Being Investigated
Tika Lal Taploo, a prominent lawyer and then Jammu and Kashmir BJP vice-president, was shot dead near his home in Srinagar in September 1989. His killing was one of the early targeted attacks on prominent Kashmiri Pandits during the rise of militancy in the Valley.
The SIA has also stepped up its investigation into the murder of Justice Neelkanth Ganjoo, who had sentenced JKLF terrorist Maqbool Bhat to death.
Justice Ganjoo was shot dead by suspected JKLF terrorists at Hari Singh Street in Srinagar on November 4, 1989. He had earlier faced threats and an attack on his residence.
The renewed investigations are part of a larger effort by the agency to revisit unresolved terror cases from the late 1980s and 1990s. Recent action in the Sarla Bhat and Sarwanand Koul Premi cases has included searches at multiple locations and the filing of a chargesheet.