Jammu, July 1 -- For 36 years, PN Bhat, 62, carried memories of not only losing his cousin Sarla Bhat but allegedly being prevented from collecting her ashes. With the state investigation agency reopening the 1990 murder case, the family now hopes justice will finally be delivered.

"Justice remained elusive to us for 36 long years but finally the wheels of justice have started rolling again," says Bhat.

Sarla Bhat, a 27-year-old staff nurse working at the Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS) in Soura, was abducted from her hostel on April 15, 1990 by Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) chief Yasin Malik and four others. She was subjected to physical torture and sexual assault in captivity before being shot dead. He...