Indian forces in occupied Kashmir are using torture as weapon to punish Kashmiri detainees, forcing them to become informers, or join counter freedom fighter organisations.
“Torture is used to extract information, punish Kashmiri detainees and try to force them to become informers or join counter freedom fighter organisations,” said a report of Human Rights Watch (HRW).
It is also used to extort money from the victim’s family. The most common forms of torture include severe beatings and electric shock. Kashmiris have also had their legs stretched apart, have been suspended from the wrists, or upside down for extended periods, which can lead to paralysis.
One of the most insidious forms of torture is the use of a heavy log or roller to apply excruciating pressure to the Kashmiris’ legs. The roller is rotated over the victim’s legs, sometimes weighed down by a number of policemen who sit or stand on it.
Extensive use of the roller frequently leads to kidney damage. Severe beatings also induce kidney failure, as can electric shock because the contractions caused by the shocks as well as the trauma, which leads the muscles to release toxins that the kidneys cannot handle in large quantities.
The risk of permanent injury is exacerbated by the fact that the victims are often denied water during interrogation and frequently become dehydrated.
Doctors in Indian held Kashmir have documented hundreds of cases of torture-induced renal failure in Kashmir.
“People who come to see me with torture-inflicted injuries are often so afraid that they virtually beg me not to reveal the facts of their case to my colleagues… You wonder how many cases don’t come to the hospital at all. We usually only get the most severe cases. The most frequent torture cases I see are soft-tissue injuries: the use of the roller, gun butts, sticks, and kicks with pointed boots,” a doctor, who is familiar with the problem, said.
