SMHS hospital has been coping with avalanche of casualties. As many as 933 cases of injuries have been registered between July 9 and August 5 at the hospital with pellet injuries constituting 73 percent of the total injuries sustained by civilians in police and CRPF action.
Ten civilian deaths have also been reported at the hospital which has received only six injured police personnel during this period.
According to the data compiled by hospital authorities, 356 cases of eye injuries and 324 extra-ocullar injuries due to pellets have been registered at the hospital, reflecting the rampant and lethal use of pellet guns by the government forces. Sixty-seven cases of bullet injuries were registered during this period. The total number of shell injuries stands at 35 while the number of cases of injuries due to beating by government forces is 92. Forty-one cases of injuries sustained due to stones were reported at the hospital while 12 people were injured after being hit by army vehicles.
On July 9, the day protests erupted in Kashmir following the killing of militant commander Burhan Muzzafar Wani, three deaths were recorded while 88 injured civilians were brought to the hospital. No causality of any police official was reported on the day.
“On 9th July, 31 people came to the hospital with pellet injuries in the eye, 20 had bullet injuries, 29 had pellet injuries in the body; four were injured due to tear gas shells while four others had been severely beaten by government forces. But no paramilitary trooper has been marked as injured in the list,” reads the report of the SMHS hospital.
On 10th July, the hospital received 104 civilian casualties. “51 people were hit by pellets in the eye, 18 had received bullet injuries, 26 had pellet injuries in other parts of the body, three people have been injured by teargas canisters, five casualties have been reported because of beating by police, one person has been hit by stone. But no causality of any paramilitary trooper has been reported.”
For seven days, the official report adds, no trooper was admitted to the hospital.
On 17th July, 27 injured civilians were brought to the hospital along with three cops with minor injuries.
On July 22, one trooper has been injured due to ‘beating by unknown persons.’
After the break of 12 days, two more cops, who according to the hospital administration have been beaten up by people, were brought to the hospital. In these 12 days around 331 injured civilians were admitted in the hospital. On 20th July, no casualty was received by the hospital.
However, Inspector General of Police, (IGP) Kashmir, SJM Gilani said: “We didn’t send any police personnel to SMHS hospital.”
When asked about the 6 injured cops who were brought to the SMHS hospital, Gilani said: “Initially they must have gone there, but we have mostly admitted them in police control rooms, base camps and in different medical rooms at the district hospitals.”
As per hospital data, however, no causality of any security personnel was reported in the initial days. Pertinently, police has claimed that thousands of cops and paramilitary CRPF personnel have been injured by protesters in the last one month.
In 28 days, 12 people were injured after being hit by armored vehicles. On 29th July alone, nine people were severely injured by police vehicles and admitted to SMHS hospital.
INJURED PERSONS AT SMHS HOSPITAL (9TH JULY TO 5TH AUGUST)
Total number of injured 933
Total no of eye injuries due to pellets 356
Total no of bullet injuries 67
Total no of pellets injuries(extraocular) 324
Total no of shell injuries 35
No of injuries due to beating by security forces 92
Total no of stone injuries 41
Police persons beaten up by unknown persons 06
RTA-Hit by army vehicle 12
Total no of deaths 10
