Claim

Mehbooba Mufti has made no statement against Yasin Malik, whom the anchor describes as a convicted rapist and murderer in the Sarla Bhatt case.

“How many statements has she made on the rapist and murderer Yasin Malik since his conviction in the Sarla Bhatt case? How many statements has she made? Why is she so cowardly?”

Rationale

The claim embeds a false legal premise: Yasin Malik has NOT been convicted in the Sarla Bhat rape-murder case. As of the 2026-07-02 broadcast, that case was only at the chargesheet/trial stage (SIA chargesheet filed ~2025, proceedings ongoing via video conferencing). Malik's sole conviction is the May 2022 NIA terror-funding case, for which he is serving life imprisonment — a separate matter. Describing him as 'convicted' in the Sarla Bhatt case is inaccurate. The anchor's rhetorical thrust that Mehbooba Mufti has not condemned Malik has some directional basis — she has not issued statements against him and in fact appealed to Amit Shah in September 2025 for a 'humanitarian' review of his case — but the claim wraps this around a false conviction status, making the overall statement misleading.

Evidence

• https://www.wionews.com/india-news/yasin-malik-faces-trial-in-sarla-bhat-rape-murder-case-35-years-after-brutal-crime-instilled-fear-in-kashmiri-pandits-triggered-exodus-1782752930044 J&K's SIA filed a chargesheet naming Yasin Malik as the alleged mastermind in the 1990 abduction, rape and murder of nurse Sarla Bhat; he is facing TRIAL via video conferencing and has NOT been convicted in this case — contradicting the anchor's description of him as 'convicted' in the Sarla Bhatt case. ✗ unreachable · HTTP 403
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yasin_Malik Malik's only conviction is the May 2022 NIA terror-funding case, for which he received concurrent life sentences under UAPA; his conviction is not in the Sarla Bhat rape-murder case. ✓ reachable · archived
• https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/5/25/iconic-kashmir-rebel-yasin-malik-sentenced-to-life-by-india-court Confirms Malik was sentenced to life imprisonment in 2022 in the terror-funding case, distinct from the Sarla Bhat matter. ✓ reachable · archived
• https://zeenews.india.com/india/mehbooba-mufti-urges-home-minister-amit-shah-to-review-yasin-malik-s-case-on-humanitarian-grounds-2961773.html In September 2025 Mehbooba Mufti publicly wrote to Home Minister Amit Shah urging a 'humanitarian lens' review of Yasin Malik's case — i.e., she has spoken about Malik, but sympathetically rather than condemning him. ✗ unreachable · HTTP 403