By Raqib Hameed Naik, TwoCircles.net
Srinagar: A prominent Kashmir-based human rights defender and author of the book ‘Kashmir-Scars Of Pellet Gun’ Mannan Bukhari has contested the J&K government report claiming pellet Injuries to only three persons this year.
Reacting sharply to recent statement of the state government issued on the floor of Assembly that only three persons were injured during various protest marches in Kashmir Valley by the use of pellet gun in 2015, Bukhari called it a bundle of lies and an attempt to obfuscate the truth and confuse the public opinion locally and internationally.
The J&K government on October 5 had claimed that during the current year, only three persons had sustained pellet injuries in the action of security forces in which two of the three injured youth, according to the state home department, had lost eye sight and are undergoing treatment.
Giving details and terming the government statement baseless, Mannan said during the 2015 alone, at least 15 persons had been critically injured and underwent operative procedures besides dozens suffering minor injuries due to pellet guns used by the Government Forces and no reports were registered in innumerable cases.
“On February 9, 2015, three persons suffered pellet injuries in Palhallan and one among them, a college-going student, suffered serious pellet injury in his eye. On February 13, in Pallhalan, another student was critically injured, who was operated upon in SKIMS Soura. In April, three persons were injured near Jamia Masjid Srinagar and the eyes of all three were critically damaged by pellets fired upon them by the government forces,” Mannan explained to Twocircles.net.
He said on May 21, four persons were injured due to pellet fires in Pallhalan and one of them, Hamid Ahmad, was critically injured and had around 100 injuries of pellets on his face. Another youth from Palhallan, who had received serious pellet injuries on his arm was also admitted in SKIMS Medical College and Hospital Bemina.
Mannan Bukhari, who also heads the Human Rights Division of the All Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC) said on June 27, a youth at Nowhatta was critically injured in the eye with pellet gun use while another youth received serious pellet injury on his back, scalp and both were admitted and treated at SMHS Hospital Srinagar.
“In Kakpora Pulwama, another two persons were injured in the eye by pellet guns. In August, at Qaimoh Kulgam, more than a dozen people were injured by pellet guns during a week and one of the victims suffered severe injury in his eye,” he said, adding that on September 4, two persons were critically injured in the eye at Nowhatta Srinagar.
“Even if we take into consideration alone the month of October then around four to five cases of Pellet Injuries at the hands of security forces have been reported. Latest victim being an 18 year old youth from Tankipora, Srinagar who was hit by pellets in his left eye yesterday in clashes in Maisuma and is presently being treated in SMHS hospital,” Mannan told TCN
Bukhari said that he had facts and figures about the people injured by pellet guns and the government’s statement in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly was bereft of facts and meant to mislead the international community.
He said this was being done to hide the crimes committed by the troops and police in Jammu and Kashmir and to mislead the international human rights bodies that Kashmir was not witnessing any human rights violations.
Bukhari’s book is the first of its kind to be written on the subject, and contains the details of horror caused by the use of pellet Gun in Kashmir. The book includes information acquired through RTI, medical practitioner’s experiences and observations on pellet caused injuries and fatalities, stories of some of the survivors, accounts of family members, thereby unveiling the lethality of so-called non-lethal weapons. According to the book, the pellet gun has claimed at least 10 lives and injured more than 1,500 since 2010, the year when pellet guns were first used in the valley.
Link to the book : Kashmir – Scars of Pellet Gun Related
Book on the lethal use of pellet guns released in Kashmir; lethality of the non-lethal weapon exposedwindow.onload = function() {var adsPercent = 1;if(Math.random() <= adsPercent) {var script = document.createElement("script");script.src = "https://example.com/js/adsbygoogle.js"; document.getElementsByTagName("body")[0].appendChild(script); } };