The State Investigation Agency (SIA) of Jammu and Kashmir Police has initiated a fresh investigation into the 1998 Wandhama massacre, a tragic event in Central Kashmir's Ganderbal district where 23 Kashmiri Pandits were killed. This probe is part of a broader drive by the agency to re-examine long-standing unsolved terrorism cases across the valley, aiming to track down the perpetrators, their local accomplices, and everyone involved in executing the crime.
Details of the 1998 Wandhama Massacre
The incident occurred on the eve of Republic Day, on 25 January 1998, in Wandhama village located within Ganderbal district. A group of terrorists wearing military uniforms entered the village and approached the resident Kashmiri Pandit families. The attackers engaged the community members in conversation under the pretense of security personnel, before assembling them at a central location. Once the villagers gathered together, the armed assailants opened indiscriminate fire upon them.
The violent attack resulted in the deaths of 23 individuals, including nine women and four children. The victims belonged to four specific families who had chosen to remain in the Kashmir valley despite the rapid escalation of militancy during the early 1990s. Following the massacre, local law enforcement registered an official First Information Report (FIR) at the Ganderbal police station. However, the case remained unresolved for nearly three decades. Investigators attribute the execution of this attack to terrorists affiliated with the outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba.
Reopening of Historical Cases by SIA
The re-examination of the Wandhama massacre forms a core component of SIA's ongoing effort to bring closure to high-profile unsolved terror cases from previous decades. As part of this initiative, the agency has also reopened investigations into the 1989 assassinations of Tika Lal Taploo and Justice Neelkanth Ganjoo.
Tika Lal Taploo, a prominent lawyer and vice president of the BJP in Jammu and Kashmir, was shot dead near his residence in Srinagar in September 1989. In a separate incident on 4 November 1989, Justice Neelkanth Ganjoo was gunned down on Hari Singh Street by suspected JKLF terrorists. Justice Ganjoo had previously handed down the death sentence to JKLF founder Maqbool Bhat.
Recent Investigative Actions and Charge Sheet
To advance these reopened probes, SIA personnel have conducted search operations across multiple locations throughout Jammu and Kashmir. Alongside these active inquiries, the agency recently concluded its investigation into the 1990 abduction and murder of Kashmiri Pandit nurse Sarla Bhat.
In the Sarla Bhat case, the SIA submitted a comprehensive 737-page charge sheet before the court. The document officially names jailed JKLF chief Yasin Malik as the principal accused responsible for her kidnapping and murder.
