SRINAGAR: Killings, detentions and destruction of property in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir have increased since the repeal of Articles 370 and 35A on August 5, 2019, according to a report released on Saturday by the Research Section of Kashmir Media Service.
The report says Indian forces, including the army, Rashtriya Rifles, CRPF, BSF and other paramilitary units, killed 1,050 Kashmiris during this period, including 22 women and 45 children. It claims that 287 of those deaths occurred in custody or in what it describes as staged encounters.
It states that Hurriyat leaders Syed Ali Gilani, Muhammad Ashraf Sehrai, Altaf Ahmed Shah and Ghulam Muhammad also died while in custody.
According to the report, 2,660 people were injured during actions against protesters, while 33,141 individuals, including activists, students, journalists, religious scholars and human rights defenders, were arrested. Many of those detained were booked under the Public Safety Act and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, it says.
The report further claims that 1,168 houses and other structures were destroyed and that 139 women were assaulted during the period under review.
It adds that the number of killings recorded since August 2019 exceeds figures documented in several earlier years and says the situation has worsened socially, politically and economically for residents of the region.
