Kashmir Police revive 1990 Sarvanand Kaul murder case to find the killers

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State Investigation Agency has reopened 1990 kidnap, murder case of famous Kashmiri poet Sarvanand Kaul Premi and his son to find the hidden culprits.

Jammu and Kashmir Police’s State Investigation Agency (SIA) has reopened the cold case of the 1990 murder of Kashmiri Pandit poet Sarvanand Kaul 'Premi', and his son, Virender. SIA opened the case 36 years after Sarvanand and his son were murdered. The SIA is investigating to find alive conspirators, local accomplices and perpetrators who were part of the murder.

Freedom fighter, scholar and literary luminary Sarvanand Kaul Premi, who had translated classics such as the Bhagavat Gita and Rabindranath Tagore's Gitanjali into Kashmiri, was one of the most admired and respected people in the Valley. When violence erupted and thousands of minority families were escaping from the Valley in April, 1990, Premi stayed back in his small village in Anantnag.

Unfortunately, the passion PREMI had for the people made him a target of the militants. On the night of April 29, 1990 the heavily armed militants entered his home and seized both Premi and his 27 year old son, Virender. Their bodies were found a few days later in a nearby village with obvious traces of torture before execution. The barbarous murder of two leaders rocked the region and hastened the departure of minority Kashmiri Panyts from their ancient homes, and left a searing brand on the political and cultural life of Kashmir.

The file was inactive for more than thirty six years, which deprived remaining family members of any formal closure, despite numerous appeal letters. The current SIA action, which included the collection of new evidence, the re-examination of witnesses and a modern review of previous forensic findings, is a breakthrough to accountability for overlooked decades-old terror cases. In addition to such ruling, the re-opening of the file is also symbolic of the value of Premi's work as well as a protest to violence that cut the social tissue of the region.

✍️Ujjawal

Scholar from University of Delhi, INDIA