SRINAGAR, Jan 27: Police in Baramulla district of north Kashmir has completed the counting of unmarked graves and has found 421 such graves in the district. The counting in Kupwara and Bandipora district is yet to be completed and the process is gong on.
The documentation of mass graves by police started after the State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) took cognizance of the report by International Peoples Tribunal Kashmir, which was an expose on the high number of unmarked graves in Kashmir Valley. After the exposure the documentation was started under “internal administrative order” by the higher ups of police and respective SSPs of the districts were asked to carry out the survey and identify the mass graves in their jurisdictions.
Last year for the first time, the investigating wing of SHRC has said it is “beyond doubt” that there are 2156 unidentified bodies buried at 38 sites in J&K since eruption of militancy in 1990.
According to investigative wing of SHRC, all these bodies, were handed over by the police to the local population for burial with bullet injuries and were classified as “unidentified militants.”
According to a senior police official, they carried out the documentation of mass graves in border town of Uri, Bijhama, Sheeri, Pattan, Gulmarg and Boniyar areas of the Baramulla district. “Our investigating teams found a total number 421 unidentified militants buried in the graves,” he said. “The teams also found the graves 523 identified militants in these areas,” he added.
If reports are to be believed, then the cops were seen in most rural areas before the snowfall, they were trying to ascertain the facts about marked and unmarked graves.
“The exercise is going on in our district. CID people are also involved,” said a middle rung police officer of the frontier district of Kupwara. “The completion will take some more time,” he added.
Senior Superintendent Police Bandipora Baseer Ahmad Khan said that teams were constituted for documentation. “In my district a team from Srinagar was carrying out the documentation but I have to confirm whether they have completed the process or not,” he said.
In Kupwara district, there are reportedly many such graveyards where identified and unidentified militants are buried. One in Lolab area of Kalroos Lolab and another in Kralopra are biggest ones. On number third it is the graveyard in Handwara town.
In Kalaroos, most militants killed in encounters at LoC in Machil Sector were being buried. While at Kralpora graveyard those killed in Keran and Chowkibal sectors of LoC were buried. All these areas are claimed to be strategic from infiltration point of view.
-Kashmir Times