annual report print final.qxd - Asian Centre for Human Rights

INDIA HUMAN RIGHTS REPORT 2005 Jammu and Kashmir
stabbing and rape by the armed opposition
groups. The AOGs also chopped off the
ears, noses and tongues of women. In 4
July 2004, alleged members of the Harkatul-Mujahideen
kidnapped Mariam Begum
from her house in Manoh village in Doda
district, raped her and then chopped off her
ears, nose and tongue10 in retaliation for
the surrender of her brother, Abdul Latif,
an armed cadre of the Harkat-ul-
Mujahideen.
Prison conditions were deplorable.
Hundreds of detenues and undertrials have
reportedly been languishing in different
jails because of the delay in their trials due
to unavailability of escorts. A number of
them have allegedly turned insane due to
prolonged incarceration. 11 Over 500
persons were reportedly detained under
the Public Safety Act (PSA) at the
beginning of 2004 despite the release of
326 PSA detenues by the government
since the PDP came to power. 12 About
eighty two persons were also detained
under the POTA at the beginning of 2004. 13
While the plight of 2.5 lakhs displaced
Kashmiri pandits received necessary
attention14 and the Central government
reportedly agreed in principle to release Rs
150 crore to set up the two room sets for
them, 15 the conditions of the 60,000
displaced persons from border areas
remained deplorable. 16 The State
government had taken a few measures to
resettle them. Chairman of Border Migrant
Action Committee, Chajju Ram of Nikkian
village in Khour block of tehsil Akhnoor in
Jammu district died on 2 March 2004 after
being beaten up on 27 February 2004 at Kot
Ghari while protesting against the lack of
their rehabilitation. 17
A survey conducted by the Tribal
Research and Cultural Foundation, a NGO
revealed that 67 per cent Gujjars and
Bakerwals tribes were not in a position to
manage two time meals, proper shelter and
fodder for their livestock. The houses
erected by Gujjars for themselves were
unhygienic and without proper light and
ventilation facilities, resulting in more
than 43 per cent Gujjar women, 23 per
cent Gujjar males and a sizeable
percentage of children suffering from T.B,
asthma, bronchitis and other diseases. The
survey further revealed that 71 per cent of
Gujjars were not aware of schemes offered
by the State and Central governments for
their uplift and betterment. 18
II. Atrocities by security forces
i. Disappearances
With 6,000 alleged pending cases,
enforced disappearances continued to be a
key human rights crisis in Jammu and
Kashmir. 19 The Association of Parents of
Disappeared Persons (APDP) alleged that
121 persons have disappeared in Kashmir
since the PDP-Congress government came
into power in November 2002. 20 The
Jammu and Kashmir Human Rights
Commission reportedly received 27
complaints of disappearances in 2003
alone. 21 On 22 January 2004, then Union
Home Minister, L.K Advani reportedly
ordered an inquiry into disappearances of
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