Srinagar: More than 150 people have suffered injuries from tear gas and pellets in the disputed Kashmir region since Indian security forces launched a major crackdown this month, data from the region’s two main hospitals shows.
A report in Aljazeera “at least 152 people reported to Srinagar’s Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS) and Shri Maharaj Hari Singh hospital with injuries from pellet shots and tear gas fire between August 5 and August 21″. The hospital data was reportedly accessed by Reuters news agency.
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The Indian government, which has not yet provided any figures of the injured, has said there have been no deaths in this month’s demonstrations.
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According to Aljazeera a local government official in the state of Jammu and Kashmir, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the number of injured was probably higher than the figures from the two hospitals.
Earlier this month, on August 5 the Indian state revoked special political status of internationally disputed region of Kashmir by changing its domestic constitution. The Modi government has imposed a tight clampdown in Kashmir, restricting people’s movement, arresting more than four thousand people and enforcing a total information blackout. Despite it all, Kashmiris, especially youth, have come out on the streets of Srinagar, on occasions such as Friday prayers or Eid this month, to protest India’s unprecedented move, in which clashes between Indian forces and demonstrators have taken place.