STRUCTURES OF VIOLENCE

CHAPTER 4: ALLEGED PERPETRATORS - AGENTS OF VIOLENCE
126 | Structures of Violence
Part A: Introduction
This chapter serves as an illustration of the violence
faced by the people of Jammu and Kashmir at the
hands of specically identied armed forces
personnel.
This chapter documents 333 case studies of enforced
disappearances, extra-judicial killings, sexual
violence and torture and is a result of many years of
documentation. The starting point has been the
Jammu Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society publication
“Informative Missive” that has over the years collated
numerous case studies and stories of human rights
violations. With a focus on cases where there were
identied accused persons, IPTK and APDP
approached the family members of the victims and the
government, armed forces and judicial/quasi-judicial
institutions for the ofcial record on these cases. In a
context where any and all public access to information
on cases is limited, IPTK and APDP deemed it
necessary to use the State's own mechanisms – for
example the court, or the “Right to Information” [RTI]
statutes – to access the State version on each of
these crimes.
Due to limited resources, not all families could be
contacted. In addition, there is a continued fear of
speaking against the State. While many of the families
contacted have provided testimony along with full
self-identication, some witnesses requested
anonymity while others chose not to have their
testimonies recorded and/or used at all. In the case
studies, where testimony has been provided by a
witness – signed and consented – it has been so
indicated.
The RTI Act has been used across these cases.
Jammu and Kashmir has a separate RTI Act of 2009
and a separate Information Commission as well. The
Indian law of 2005 applies to the Government of India
ministries/authorities. RTI applications have broadly
been either case specic OR on broader issues that
pertain to all human rights violations in Jammu and
Kashmir.
RTI was led to the Jammu and Kashmir police on
First Information Reports [FIR] in cases where FIR
details were available and the investigation record
and status of investigations were sought. The FIR is
the starting point of a police investigation and is a
record of information received of a commission of a
crime. It is on this FIR that the police begin their
investigations. In a majority of cases the Jammu and
Kashmir police do not le FIRs. This is either due to
the fear of the armed forces, as the armed forces have
overarching authority and control and they can direct
the police accordingly, or because the Jammu and
Kashmir police is itself involved in the crime, or, as is
often the case, because the police assists the
accused armed forces in ensuring that there is no
accountability for their actions. The police are
instrumental in ensuring that human rights violations
are covered up. This chapter has numerous examples
of such cases where there is no FIR. In addition,
families themselves have felt unable to approach the
police to le the FIR – due to fear of the police
themselves and the accused forces involved [though
this does not excuse the police as they could le the
FIR themselves on receipt of information of a crime
committed]. The information received, and referred to
in each case study where relevant, highlights both the
modus operandi of the armed forces [for example,
extra-judicial killings are often termed as “encounters”
as is evident by comparing the FIRs with the family
testimony and on occasion with the subsequent police
investigations], and the manner in which the State
institutions - primarily the police – have protected the
armed forces [or for that matter themselves]. In cases
where FIRs have been led, the police have only
rarely carried out proper and fair investigations and
have mostly closed the cases as untraced.
RTI was led to the Jammu and Kashmir High Court
on petition numbers in cases where petitions were
led by the victim families and the entire case record
and status were sought. The High Court has over the
years become a repository of the human rights
violations in Jammu and Kashmir as it was often seen
as the rst and last resort for relief. Therefore,
information was sought from the High Court on the
petitions led, responses of the State and orders
passed. The information received, and referred to in
each case study where relevant, illustrates that in
Jammu and Kashmir the judiciary has chosen not to
confront the armed forces and the larger Indian State
project of control and occupation despite having the
constitutional powers to do so. Strong and effective
orders that could have at least minimized the effects of
violence have rarely been passed. When passed, and
ignored by the armed forces, the High Court does not
ensure implementation. But the High Court
proceedings themselves [irrespective of nal orders]
serve as indictments. Whether by the responses of
the armed forces or government ministries, or by
judicial enquiries ordered by the High Court, the case
against the alleged perpetrators is prima facie
established.
In addition to the above specic RTIs, broader areas
were identied and information was sought, as
follows:
• Sanction for Prosecution under the Armed
Forces (Jammu and Kashmir) Special Power Act,
1990 [AFSPA] [Annexure 6]. The fundamental
problem in Jammu and Kashmir is not draconian
laws such as AFSPA. It is instead the political
control that the Indian State has sought to maintain
over Jammu and Kashmir, through the armed