Key hospitals in occupied Kashmir treat over 150 tear gas, pellet injuries

Data shows 152 Kashmiris have been reported to hospitals between August 5 and August 21

SRINAGAR: At least 152 people have suffered injuries from tear gas and pellets in occupied Kashmir since Indian security forces this month launched a sweeping crackdown, data from the Himalayan region's two main hospitals shows.

Local authorities have deployed additional paramilitary police, banned public gatherings and cut cellular and internet links to prevent large scale protests after withdrawing the Kashmir’s special status on August 5.



Still, people especially youth, have come out in the lanes of the region's key city of Srinagar, on occasions such as Friday prayers or Eid this month, throwing stones, facing retaliatory action by security forces.

Data showed 152 people reported to Srinagar's Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences and Shri Maharaj Hari Singh with injuries from pellet shots and tear gas fire between August 5 and August 21.

India, which has not yet provided any figures of the injured in the sporadic protests, has claimed there have been no deaths in this month's demonstrations in a region where more than 50,000 have died since an armed revolt broke out in 1989.



A local official in Kashmir, however, said the number of injured was probably higher than the figures from the two hospitals.

Many of those who were discharged within hours do not feature in their list, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, while others, with wounds treated at smaller hospitals, remain unaccounted for.