Srinagar, January 28, 2012: Senior police officers admitted that 421 unmarked graves existed in Baramulla district.
The 421 unmarked graves have been found in Barfamulla district. The police officails in Baramulla district who had completed the counting of unmarked graves and has found 421 such graves in the district said that the counting in Kupwara and Bandipore districts is yet to be completed and the process is gong on, told media men.
The documentation of mass graves by police started after the Human Rights Commission of Kashmir took cognizance of the report by International Peoples Tribunal Kashmir, which was an expose on the high number of unmarked graves in Kashmir Valley. After the exposure the documentation was started under “internal administrative order” by the higher ups of police and respective SSPs of the districts were asked to carry out the survey and identify the mass graves in their jurisdictions.
Last year it was said that there are 2156 unidentified bodies buried at 38 sites in Kashmir since eruption of military violence in 1990.
According to a senior police official, they carried out the documentation of mass graves in Uri, Bijhama, Sheeri, Pattan, Gulmarg and Boniyar areas of the Baramulla district. “Our investigating teams found a total number 421 unidentified militants buried in the graves,” he admitted..
If reports are to be believed, then the cops were seen in most rural areas before the snowfall, they were trying to ascertain the facts about marked and unmarked graves.
“The exercise is going on in our district. CID people are also involved,” said a middle rung police officer of Kupwara. “The completion will take some more time,” he added.
Senior Superintendent Police Bandipora Baseer Ahmad Khan said that teams were constituted for documentation. “In my district a team from Srinagar was carrying out the documentation but I have to confirm whether they have completed the process or not,” he said.
In Kupwara district, there are reportedly many such graveyards where identified and unidentified persons are buried. One in Lolab area of Kalroos Lolab and another in Kralopra are biggest ones. On number third it is the graveyard in Handwara town.