*HIRPORA: The soldiers came after midnight, Abid Khan says, his handstrembling, one of around two dozen young men in just one part of Kashmirwho say they have been tortured by the Indian army.*
The alleged abuse, residents say, is aimed at creating a climate of fearafter India stripped the long-restive, blood-soaked Himalayan region of itsautonomy on August 5.
Khan, 26, from Hirpora village in Shopian district, says he was dragged outand blindfolded along with his brother, who has learning difficulties, onAugust 14.
“They gave electric shocks to my brother right on the road outside. I heardhim scream painfully,” Khan told AFP, showing marks on his arms, legs andbuttocks.
Once inside the nearby Chowgam army camp, Khan said soldiers stripped himnaked, tied up his legs and wrists, suspended him and beat him with rods.
The camp major, Khan said, accused him of inviting Riyaz Naikoo from HizbulMujahideen — one of several militant groups fighting Indian rule — to hisrecent marriage.
An uprising in Indian occupied Kashmir has killed tens of thousands since1989, mostly civilians.
“I kept repeating that was not true,” Khan said. “Then they gave meelectric shocks again on my genitals and wounds. One of them said ´I willmake you impotent´.”
After being released at dawn and barely able to stand, Khan says he keptvomiting for 10 days and only managed to start moving around again after 20days.
“I can´t eat properly anymore,” he said. “I don´t go into the room my wifesleeps in anymore… It´s better to die with a bullet than undergo suchtorture.”‘People-friendly’
New Delhi says its Kashmir lockdown since last month, with mobile serviceand the internet still snapped in most areas, is to prevent “terrorists”backed by Islamabad from stirring up trouble.
India´s national security advisor has denied that the military hascommitted any atrocities, a statement echoed by Colonel Rajesh Kalia, anarmy spokesman in Kashmir.
“All counter-terrorist operations are conducted in the most professionaland people-friendly manner. Allegations of manhandling leveled against thearmy are completely baseless,” Kalia told AFP.
But people in Hirpora say they often hear screams from the army camp atnight.
Three other villagers told AFP they were also tortured. In total, aroundtwo dozen young men in the villages of Shopian told similar stories.
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“The army is making examples of two or three young men from each village,”said one resident of Shopian who has compiled a list.
The pattern is often of soldiers raiding homes, taking identity cards andmobiles and telling young men to report to the camps to retrieve them.
One 21-year-old, who declined to be named but shared with AFP photos of hiswounds, said he has reported to the Pahnoo camp three times since August 27and was abused each time.
An officer accused of him of giving food to rebels and then offered himmoney for information, he said. Another time, he was grilled about a formerclassmate who is now a militant.
“They gave me electric shocks inside a dark room for about two hours,” theman said, showing scars on his forearm.‘Come back with names’
Obaid Khan, also 21, from Gugloora village said he had to go to the samecamp to retrieve his ID and phone on August 26.
“Eight soldiers kept beating me with rods for a long time. Before they letme go, they asked me to come back with names of stone throwers in myvillage,” he said, referring to protesters who clash with security forces.
Sajjad Hyder Khan, a local official in Pinjoora village told AFP he hasseen a list of 1,800 people detained by police and soldiers from Shopianalone, one of the four districts in the southern Kashmir Valley.
Not far from his home in Shopian town, five soldiers in black with“COMMANDO” on their sleeves and carrying assault rifles were going house tohouse, seeking details of residents.
“In my humble subdued voice, all I can say is that the pressure is there inorder to prevent people from protesting,” said Khan, the Pinjoora official.
And it has worked.
The official added: “There has been no stone pelting on the soldiers sinceAugust 5.” -APP/AFP