More than 2,000 corpses have been found buried in several unmarked graves in Indian-held Kashmir, believed to be victims of the divided region’s separatist revolt, a government human rights commission said in a report. The graves were found in dozens of villages near the Line of Control. This report comes amid accusations that at least some of the bodies may be those of civilians who “disappeared” after being arrested by security forces fighting rebels in the Muslim-majority region.
“At 38 places visited in north Kashmir, there were 2,156 unidentified dead bodies buried in unmarked graves,” the inquiry report by the Indian government’s Jammu and Kashmir State Human Rights Commission (J&KSHRC) said. The report, released on Saturday, comes after a three-year inquiry by an 11-member team led by a senior police official. Nearly 50,000 people have been killed in IHK since a revolt against New Delhi’s rule began in 1989.
On Saturday, Indian soldier shot dead 12 separatist militants trying to cross from Pakistan into the disputed region. Indian security forces in Kashmir have been accused of murdering innocent civilians in staged gunbattles and passing them off as separatist militants to earn rewards and promotions.
