Stories of torture following annexation by India emerge from occupied Kashmir – World

People in occupied Kashmir have accused the Indian security forces of carrying out beatings and torture following the government's decision to strip the region of its autonomy, BBC news reported Thursday.

the BBC I heard several villagers who said they were hit with sticks and cables and received electric shocks.

The author of the article, journalist Sameer Hashmi, wrote that residents of several villages showed him injuries. the BBCHowever, he could not verify the accusations with the officials.

"I visited at least half a dozen villages in the southern districts […] I heard similar stories from several people in all these villages of night raids, beatings and torture, "Hashmi wrote.

"The doctors and health officials are not willing to talk to journalists about any patient, regardless of the ailments, but the villagers showed me injuries allegedly inflicted by security forces."

According to the residents of a village, the Indian army went from house to house a few hours after the Bharatiya Janata Hindu-Nationalist Party (BJP) announced the controversial decision that overturned a decades-old agreement between Delhi and occupied Kashmir.

The government of India, led by BJP, decided on August 5 to repeal article 370 of the Indian constitution and imposed a security blockade and a communications blackout. The repression is now on its 26th day.

& # 39; Hit every part of my body & # 39;

Two brothers alleged that they were woken up and taken to an outside area where almost a dozen men from the village had gathered, the article said, adding that people were too afraid of reprisals to reveal their identities.

"They beat us. We asked them: & # 39; What have we done? You can ask the villagers if we are lying, if we have done something wrong & # 39; but they didn't want to hear anything, they didn't say anything, they just hit us," he said. one of them.

"They hit every part of my body. They kicked us, they hit us with sticks, they gave us electric shocks, they hit us with wires. They hit us on the back of our legs. When we passed out they gave us electric shocks to bring us back When they hit us with sticks and we shouted, they sealed our mouth with mud.

"We told them that we are innocent. We asked them why they were doing this. But they didn't listen to us. I told them not to beat us, just shoot us. I asked God to take me, because torture was unbearable." ".

The article cites a young man, who said that the security forces asked him to "name those who threw stones." He said he told the soldiers that he didn't know any, so they ordered him to take off his glasses, clothes and shoes.

"Once I took off my clothes, they beat me mercilessly with sticks and sticks, for almost two hours. Every time I fell unconscious, they gave me downloads to revive. [me].

"If they do it to me again, I am willing to do anything, I will pick up the gun. I can't stand this every day," he said, adding that the soldiers told him to warn everyone in his town that if anyone participated in any protest against the forces, they would face similar repercussions.

According to the journalist, the men with whom he spoke believed that the security forces did this to intimidate the villagers so that they were too afraid to protest.

"They beat us like we were animals"

A man in his 20s, while talking with the BBC, said the army threatened to frame him if he did not become an informant against the Kashmir fighter. He alleged that when he refused, he was beaten so much that two weeks later he still cannot lie on his back.

"If this continues, I will have no choice but to leave my house. They beat us like we were animals. They don't consider us human," he said.

Another man, who showed the journalist his injuries, said he was pushed to the ground and severely beaten with "cables, guns, sticks and probably iron bars by 15-16 soldiers."

"I was semi-conscious. They pulled my beard so hard that I felt my teeth were going to fall out."

The Indian army calls the accusations "unfounded"

The Indian army, in a statement to the BBCHe said that "he had not mistreated any civilian as alleged."

"There have been no specific complaints of this nature. It is likely that these allegations have been motivated by hostile elements," said army spokesman Colonel Aman Anand.

Measures have been taken to protect civilians, but "there have been no injuries or casualties due to the countermeasures undertaken by the army," he added.

This article has been cured from the BBC News report by Sameer Hashmi, which you can read here.