Civilian deaths in custody fuel anger and questions in Kashmir
Kashmiris are calling for an investigation into the deaths of three civilians on Friday, who were among a number of people Indian soldiers had detained for questioning in connection with an attack by separatist militants in the troubled region.
Thursday’s ambush of two army vehicles, which killed four soldiers and wounded three others, was the latest in a violent campaign that militants resisting Indian rule have carried out in remote villages in Kashmir’s Himalayas , an area at the heart of a bitter and long-standing dispute between India and Pakistan.
Mohammad Iqbal, a local businessman and uncle of one of the victims, said soldiers arrived Friday morning at Topa Peer village in Poonch district, not far from where the attack took place, and arrested at least eight people, he said. . His cousin and two others were found dead on the side of the road that evening. Their bodies showed signs of torture, he said.
“They were innocent civilians,” Mr Iqbal said. “This is a serious injustice.”
Local police seized the bodies and contacted the families. Several other people arrested Friday have been released and hospitalized, according to local officials. A video purporting to show the torture of detained civilians spread online, fueling widespread anger.
To prevent protests in Poonch and Rajouri districts, where the ambush took place, authorities shut down internet services in the area and deployed more troops on roads leading to villages.
No one has been charged in connection with the attack on the military vehicle, which Indian news media reported was carried out by a little-known militant group. claimed responsibility for. The military said in a rack that the search continued.
Poonch, in a southern district of Kashmir, is close to the heavily militarized Line of Control between India and Pakistan. Although residents of the Kashmir Valley have long accused Indian forces of disappearances and extrajudicial killings, relatively remote areas such as Rajouri and Poonch have historically been spared the worst atrocities.
But in recent years after that India has stripped Kashmir of its semi-autonomous statusThese areas have become the scene of deadly attacks on Indian troops by Islamist militants seeking to unite Kashmir either as part of Pakistan or as an independent country. At least three dozen soldiers have been killed in such attacks, which in turn have prompted a crackdown.
Human rights groups have long accused government forces of getting away with their actions because of laws that grant them broad impunity.
Mehbooba Mufti, the region’s former top elected official, said innocent people have become collateral damage by maintaining the facade of normalcy imposed by the Indian government in Kashmir, which is now under the direct control of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
That regional government said it was investigating the deaths and announced compassionate government jobs for relatives of the victims.
Farooq Abdullah, another former senior elected official in Kashmir, called such compensation inadequate.
“This is a serious violation of human rights and there must be an impartial investigation,” he said. “How could we win people’s hearts if these kinds of killings continue?”