Video showing Kashmiri boys ‘paraded’ naked by forces sparks outrage.
A three minute video clip purportedly showing some young Kashmiri boys being paraded naked by the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and police in Sopore town of North Kashmir has triggered outrage in the valley.
The clip titled ‘Indian Army repeating Abu Gharib in Kashmir’ is doing rounds on the popular social networking site, Facebook after it was uploaded by a user on the intervening night of September 6-7. The video shot with a mobile phone camera at an unknown location shows several alleged stone pelters being paraded naked by the troops and police through paddy fields. The video has been packaged with subtitles and background music.
“This video should be avoided by sisters and children. This video contains disturbing scenes of brutality unleashed by Indian soldiers on Kashmiri young men in Sopore region of the Valley. In this video young men have been stripped naked and are being paraded through their village by Indian soldiers. Viewer’s discretion (is) highly recommended,” the ‘statutory warning’ on the clip says.
In the clip, authenticity of which is yet to be established, CRPF men and police are hurling choicest abuses at the youth allegedly detained during clashes between protesters and the forces. The stripped youth are also forced to raise their hands leaving their private parts uncovered. The security men are also heard mocking the plight of the detained youth.
Mystery also shrouds the person operating the mobile camera. The place and the year the video has been shot are also unclear.
The video has sent shockwaves and stirred a debate among the tens of thousands of users on Facebook. The video shared by outraged Kashmiri youth with their online friends and contacts has evoked sharp condemnation from the Facebook users across the globe, including India. Some of the users have even compared the abuse of the alleged stone pelters by the forces with the prisoners of infamous Abu Gharib jail in Iraq.
“I am daughter of an Indian army officer. I’m embarrassed and shocked,” comments, Avleen Gill, a graduate from Saint Bede’s college.
Asrar Nazir, a Kashmiri, writes that Aman Goth, the General in Hitler’s Army was hanged in public for parading Jews naked in a concentration camp in Poland. In India, he says, “democracy exists on papers only.”
“It’s a shocking and brutal act. Is this the democracy India is proud of?” he adds.
Another Kashmiri Facebook user, “Karim Nanvor” comments that he was not surprised by the video as double standards were the bench mark of civilized nations.
“World sees India as a rising power which can do nothing wrong. It is our duty to keep world updated.”
Kaptaan Singh, a resident of North India’s Punjab state comments: “After looking at this video, I feel ashamed to call myself Indian.”
“See how Indian troops humiliate Kashmiris. Where are the champions of the human rights? Dr Waleed Sheikh, a Kashmiri working in Uzbekistan asks.
Noted human rights activist and Program Coordinator of Jammu and Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society (JKCCS), Khurram Parvez said that such incidents were not new and have occurred in the last 20 years of conflict, especially in jails and interrogation camps where youth were subjected to severe physical torture.
“There is nothing new in the video clip. Stripping off the detainees, parading them naked and inserting wire in their private parts was a normal practice in jails and interrogation centers. The video has created a furor because it has been released in public domain,” Khurram said.
“Now we have to see how the civil society reacts to this revelation. We have to see if this clip pricks the conscience of Indian masses,” he adds.
Pertinently, last year police had allegedly forced 11 youth to sodomize each other during their detention at Maharaj Gunj police station on the charges of stone pelting. Police, according to the counsel of the youth, Advocate Bashir Sidiq had also filmed the incident.
Refuting the allegations, CRPF, spokesperson, Prabhakar Tripathi said the modern technology has made it possible to create video clips easily. The clip in question, he said, was the handiwork of the people who want to harm the image of the force.
“There is not even one percent truth in the video. It has been manipulated to malign the image of our men. I categorically deny its contents,” he added.
Minister for Rural Development, Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, Ali Mohammad Sagar raised question over the authenticity of the clip.
“I doubt the authenticity of the video clip. Forces cannot indulge in such immoral activities. However, if proven, stern action will be initiated,” Sagar said.(PBI)
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