May 21, 2019 00:26:12 | Riyaz Bhat

Jammu Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society (JKCCS) in its report on Monday revealed that at least 55 percent victims of violence in J&K were subjected to various forms of sexual torture since 1990.

The JKCCS said that it has conducted the case studies of 432 victims out of which they found that 55.09 percent victims were subjected to a different form of sexual torture by forces.

“At least 238 out of 432 victims (almost 55.1%) were subjected to some form of sexual torture. 190 people were stripped naked. 127 people were electrocuted in their genitals. Foreign objects like rods, petrol, chilli powder and needles were inserted into rectums of 23 victims,” reads JKCCS report.

The JKCCS in a report has stated that in the 432 cases studies for this report, 24 are women. “Out of these 12 had been raped by forces.”

It was also revealed that at least 69.67 percent victims of torture by forces are civilians including women, students, minors, political and human rights activists and journalists.

JKCCS said, “Out of the 432 victims, 222 (51.4%) suffered some form of health complications after being tortured. Out of these 222, at least 209 (94.1%) people suffered health issues with long- term ramifications, and among them, 49 (23.4%) suffered acute ailment issues like partial loss of eyesight or hearing ability, amputations, sexual impotence.”

In a report it was also stated that out of 432 victims, 44 suffered from some form of psychological difficulty due to torture. At least 301 out of 432 torture victims were civilians, 119 were militants, 5 ex-militants (essentially civilians at the time of being tortured) and 2 from the Jammu & Kashmir Police. (Affiliations were un-verified in 5 cases).

“The civilians include political activists, human rights activists, journalists and students. Of the 432, 27 were minors when tortured. Professionals like doctors, paramedics and journalists have also been regularly targeted and assaulted since the early 1990s,” the report reads.

JKCCS said that in 2016, four persons disappeared in the Kashmir valley, three of them during the mass uprising. Three persons were recorded as disappeared though their bodies were later found from different locations. In two of these cases, there were visible torture marks found on the bodies of victims.

Citing an example of a case of 17 year old boy, JKCCS said that he was arrested in May 2017, taken to Police Station Batamaloo, where he was beaten and verbally abused for two days (Case 389). The boy was not told why he had been picked and detained. He hasn’t been able to find out since either.

“Out of 432 case studies, at least 50 victims were tortured as a measure of reprisal and/or punishment. 118 out of 432 victims of torture said that they were tortured to provide information about their militant relatives, or were forced to own affiliation to militants, or provide information about militant associates or to provide the weapons of the militants,” the report reads.

It also reads that at least 11 of the 432 torture victims said that they were forced to make confessions of crimes, which they were not involved in.

The JKCCS in a report further said that most of the people were subjected to more than one form of torture, carried out in tandem.

“Physical beating and beating on the sole of the foot, stripping naked and suspension from the ceiling are four widely and most commonly used procedures of torture carried out by state forces in Kashmir after an arrest,” JKCCS said.

JKCCS also stated that 325 of the 432 torture victims in their testimonies said that they were beaten with bamboo or wooden sticks, iron rods and leather belts, adding, “Beatings were common and would continue for days together. 93 people said that they were dragged, slapped on their faces, kicked, punched or glass bottles were broken on their heads.”

The report also reads that 3 people had been pushed against a hard background, like a wall or piles of rocks. “2 people had been pushed: one was pushed to make him fall down and strike his head on the concrete floor and another was pushed down a hill.”

“105 people said that their hands and feet were kept tied for many days at a stretch; 56 people said that their legs were stretched 180 degrees; 70 victims had been burned using different techniques. Most of these victims were burnt using live cigarette butts, the scars of which they still carry. Acid was used on 2 people. Hot handcuffs, melted candle wax, being forced to sit on a burning stove, were the other methods used to burn victims,” JKCCS mentioned in a report

“231 out of 432 victims said that they were electrocuted during detention. 127 out of them had been electrocuted in their genitals. 24 people out had been subjected to waterboarding; 169 victims had been given the roller treatment. 12 victims had been subjected to slits and cuts on their bodies with sharp objects.11 victims were made to face harsh weather conditions like snow or scorching sun,” JKCCS.

The report also reads that out of 432 cases at least 12 are victims of rape, 190 Stripped naked cases, 127 electrocuted in genitals, one sodomized case and 23 were victims of foreign object inserted into rectum.



