India using torture as weapon in Kashmir, says Human Rights Watch

Detainees are forced to become informers, or join counter freedom-fighter organisations, claims report

ISLAMABAD: 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, said World Report 2016 issued by the Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Wednesday.

It is also used to extort money and information from the victim's family, the report said, adding the most common forms of torture include severe beatings and electric shock.

One of the most insidious forms of torture is the use of a heavy log or roller to apply excruciating pressure to a detainee’s legs, leading to kidney damage.



Doctors in Indian held Kashmir have also documented hundreds of cases of torture-induced renal failure in Kashmir.

According to one doctor familiar with the problem, "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," he said.