“The scale and extent of torture used in Jammu and Kashmir——where the number of victims varies between 60,000 to several hundred thousands, if torture is understood in accordance with the international Convention against Torture——shows how the Indian State and civil society have been complicit in allowing this practice to carry on unmindful of its consequence for India’s Constitutional democracy and for vitiating chances of a peaceful, democratic resolution”, New Delhi based PUDR said in a statement today.
ICRC was allowed in Kashmir under a ‘limited mandate’ in 1995 and could visit prisoners in designated centres, jails, but was barred from interrogation centres such as the notorious Cargo Building near Srinagar airport. While ICRC shared data for 2002—2004 with US diplomats, which shows that 45% of 1491 detainees/prisoners interviewed by them in 177 visits were tortured, they point out that conditions, in contrast to 1990s, had improved, but torture as a practice continues.
“In the five months of 2010, eight children died due to torture and out of the 3000 detained, a very large number were juvenile” PUDR quoting Hindu newspaper of 18 December 2010 said.
It also highlighted the incidence of sexual abuse of boys, the most recent being from 2009.
“On 29 October 2009, when eleven boys were produced before the sessions court, some of them narrated how they were forced to commit sodomy and how their photographs were taken by their torturers. The boys were threatened that the photos would be leaked out if they did not quit the movement. The Court ordered medical examination and doctors in their report confirmed that there were bruises on the victims’ buttocks, according to Hindustan Times of 6 November 2009. But no action resulted”, the statement further said.
'PUDR believes that the use of torture is widespread and acquires epidemic proportions in ‘disturbed areas’. PUDR is also convinced that the Indian State is guilty of ‘crimes against humanity’ and must be held accountable by the domestic and international public opinion and made to prosecute those guilty of these crimes”, it demanded.
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