Despite a public outcry against the use of pellet guns against protesters, youth with pellet injuries are pouring into hospitals from different parts of Kashmir. In the past four days, Shri Maharaja Hari Singh (SMHS) Hospital has received over 100 youth with pellet injuries while some have been admitted to Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS) and district hospitals. Twelve-year-old Mir Arafat of Khanbal in south Kashmir has been kept under observation at the intensive care unit of the SMHS Hospital. Arafat has received hundreds of pellets in vital organs,…
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Communication blackout in valley undermines Human Rights: Amnesty International
The suspension of phone and internet services in the Kashmir valley is enabling a range of human rights violations, Amnesty International said on Saturday. Since 9 July, when widespread protests broke out in Kashmir following the killing of a leader of the Hizbul Mujahideen armed group, private landline, mobile and internet service providers have suspended their services in large parts of Jammu and Kashmir on orders from state authorities. Only services provided by the state-run telecommunications company, BSNL, are functional in many areas. One order issued by the Jammu and…
Read MoreChildren aged 4, 11, 12: Old enough for police to get pellets, bullets!
“I want to go home. I want to be with my friends,” says Zuhra, unmindful of the pellets, fired by police, which have pierced her body. Asked how she got injured, Zuhra blames “firecrackers by police uncle.” Four-year-old Zuhra Majeed, undergoing treatment at SMHS Hospital here, has been insisting on meeting her friends. She wants to show them her video that has gone viral on social networking sites. “I want to go home. I want to be with my friends,” says Zuhra, unmindful of the pellets, fired by police, which…
Read MorePellets wreak Havoc, Nasir(5) battles Injuries
20 Persons have eyes severely damaged, 10 Victims completely lost 1 eye, most of 170 injured need retinal surgery, Nasir(5) Battles pellet injuries Of over 170 persons admitted at general specialty SMHS hospital here with eye-injuries, at least 20 have their both eyes “severely damaged” by pellets while another 10 persons have completely lost their one eye to the ‘lethal’ ammunition. While doctors have started to operate upon these patients, they fear the damage caused by the pellets to many persons may be “irreparable.” A senior eye specialist at the…
Read MoreJK’s ‘Non-lethal’ Pellet guns, and the Injuries, Blindness they cause
Home Minister Rajnath Singh has announced an expert panel to suggest alternatives to pellets in crowd control. Indian Express explains this most emotive aspect of the current round of protests in the Valley. Home Minister Rajnath Singh told the Lok Sabha on Thursday that the pellet guns fired on protesters in Kashmir had killed one person and given eye injuries to 53 during the current round of unrest, and that the government was looking out for non-lethal alternatives for crowd control. Opthalmologists at Srinagar’s Sri Maharaja Hari Singh (SMHS) Hospital…
Read MoreAs Restrictions, Curfew continue, People facing difficulties in finding essentials
With no let-up in restrictions imposed by the authorities, the Kashmir valley is grappling with shortage of essentials as people in curfew-bound areas are finding difficult to get baby food, medicines and even food items at certain places. Baby food, medicines like insulin, food items and some other essential supplies have dried up have dried up across Kashmir division due to prolonged curfew and restriction which have entered 12th day today after the killing of Hizb Commander Burhan Muzaffar Wani. This reporter visited the Srinagar’s old city where curbs and…
Read Moreear-old Arafat has pellets in Heart, Intestines, Chest, Eyes and Spinal-cord
13-year-old Mir Arfat from Khanabal area of Anantnag district has been hit by pellets in his vital organs and is battling for life at SMHS hospital here. The Class 7th student—the latest victim of ‘deadly’ pellets—has pellets in his heart, intestines, abdomen, chest, neck, eyes and in his spinal-cord area as well, said a senior doctor who examined Arfat. “We can’t say anything about his condition right now. The priority is that his condition should remain stable first. We will monitor him for next 12 hours and then only a…
Read MoreEditors refuse to resume publication, ask Govt to come clean on Ban
Valley-based newspapers on Wednesday asked the state government to come clean on continued ban on publication of the newspapers, saying the “government was using all the available tactics to hit the credibility of the media institutions”. “On Monday Chief Minister’s advisor Prof Amitabh Mattoo approached us insisting that it (ban) was a mistake for which he apologized,” Editor Kashmir Life Masood Hussain read a statement to media after 2-hour meeting of the editors and proprietors of Kashmir based newspapers. “At the same time the state government resorted to propaganda blitzkrieg…
Read MoreKashmiri boy detained in Delhi for displaying placard ‘I want Justice’
A 25-year-old man from Kashmir was detained for questioning after he held out in public a placard with ‘I want justice’ written on it in west Delhi, police said on Sunday. Amir Amin, a resident of Shopian district in Jammu and Kashmir, was detained from near the Sector 9 bus stand in Dwarka area. A passer-by noticed him displaying a placard and made a call to the Police Control Room, a police officer said. He is a resident of the Palam Extension area since January 5, the police officer added.…
Read MoreMedia gag to continue for three days : Govt
Journalists hold sit-in at Press Enclave, call it ‘press emergency’ In an unprecedented move, the clueless PDP-BJP government has now enforced information blackout across Kashmir by raiding newspaper offices in bid to threaten them to suspend their publications and also banning the Cable TV in Valley areas—the moves which have evoked severe criticism from the stakeholders. According to reports, many newspaper printing presses were raided, leading to forced suspension of newspapers’ publication. On Saturday, owners and editors of several Kashmir-based newspapers held a sit-in at Press Enclave here, condemning in strong…
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