Jammu and Kashmir: 3,326 pellet victims left out of list submitted to state human rights panel

The administrations of eight districts in Jammu and Kashmir have left out 3,326 people from their list of victims who suffered pellet injuries during the violent protests that broke out in the Valley after the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani in July 2016, Greater Kashmir reported.

The district administrators of eight districts – Baramulla, Kupwara, Shopian, Pulwama, Anantnag, Kulgam, Ganderbal and Srinagar – had submitted a report before the state’s human rights commission, stating that 2,524 people were injured by pellets, many of them in the eyes.

However, data compiled by the state’s health and medical education department showed that 5,850 people were injured in these eight districts during that time. Hospitals in the Valley’s 10 districts had received 6,200 pellet victims during that time.

The use of pump action guns, or pellet guns, by government forces has come under a lot of criticism after severe injuries were reported among Kashmiri civilians due to it.

Police to investigate pump action gun attack on teen

The Jammu and Kashmir Police on Sunday ordered an investigation into the alleged attack at a 17-year-old boy with a pump action gun, or pellet gun, in Srinagar on Friday, which left him severely injured, the Greater Kashmir reported.

The police will investigate who shot at the teenager, why they did it, and how he had come to the site of the attack. “I have directed senior superintendent of police of Srinagar to conduct a thorough probe into the incident,” Kashmir Inspector General of Police Muneer Khan said. “We will find out how the incident happened and what the circumstances were.”

Preliminary reports showed that 40 youngsters had gathered in the Nawa Kadal area after Friday prayers and began pelting stones, Khan was quoted as saying.

“Police as well as Central Reserve Police Force personnel were deployed in the area,” Khan said. “We will find out what the young student was doing in the area, and whether a policeman or a CRPF man fired at him.”

A Central Reserve Police Force spokesman told Greater Kashmir that an internal inquiry had showed that its personnel had used tear gas, not pump action guns. The 17-year-old, Zahid Ahmad, was allegedly shot at close quarters by security forces.