New York, June 11: Amnesty International has urged the Indian authorities to immediately carry out fair and impartial investigations into the involvement of Indian troops in the sexual assault and murders of the two women in Shopian on May 30.

Amnesty International in a statement while expressing concern over the continued human rights violations said that protesters in Jammu and Kashmir continued to press for the Indian government to seriously pursue the case whether members of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) raped and murdered two women 22-year-old Aasiya Jan and her sister-in-law, 17-year-old Niloufer Jan. One person has already been killed and around 150 injured in weeklong protests against the gruesome incident.

“These protests are about the ongoing failure of the Indian government to bring members of the security forces to justice for serious human rights violations,” said Sam Zarifi, Amnesty International’s Asia-Pacific director. “Until the Indian government provides accountability for the conduct of the armed forces in Kashmir, it will continue to face discontent from the residents,” Sam Zarifi added.

Police and paramilitary forces have resorted to firing at protesters in several places, including Shopian, Baramulla and Srinagar. Reports from hospitals that admitted the injured indicate that Indian troops fired both live ammunition and rubber bullets.  "Authorities should ensure that security forces comply with international human rights standards on law enforcement, in particular those relating to the use of force to deal with protestors. Any instance of excessive use of force should be impartially investigated,” said Sam Zarifi.
Local human rights organizations and journalists have informed Amnesty International that concerted attempts have been made to suppress evidence of sexual assault of the two women. Police also failed to interview potential witnesses, even as the state authorities ordered a judicial inquiry into the murders.
Amnesty International has repeatedly called for repeal of the security legislation in force in Jammu & Kashmir that facilitates impunity by providing discretionary powers to security forces and effectively enabling them to violate human rights. Serious concerns also remain over the effectiveness of past inquiries ordered by the authorities into human rights violations including unlawful killings, enforced disappearances and sexual assault of women.

Amnesty International has also received information on 8 June that at least four Kashmiri Hurriyet leaders have been arbitrarily detained. No charge has been levelled against them so far.

One of the detained leaders, Syed Ali Gilani, was taken to an unknown destination. Mirwaiz Mohammad Umar Farooq, Yasin Malik and Javed Mir  were placed under house detention. Amnesty International has called on the authorities to disclose the details of their detention including as to how they are being treated and immediately release those detained unless they are charged with a recognizably criminal offence. Amnesty International has also said that they should only be held in official and acknowledged places of detention and brought promptly before an independent judicial authority. kms