Fresh protests over disappearances in Indian Kashmir

INDIA: Hundreds of people staged fresh protests in Indian-administered Kashmir Monday over alleged disappearances of people while in the custody of security forces, witnesses said.

Several rallies held in Srinagar, the summer capital of Muslim-majority Indian Kashmir, was attended by several families of missing persons and concluded peacefully. More than 400 people also marched to police headquarters in the city and staged a sit-in to press for news on the fate of some two dozen local youths.

"The young people disappeared in the custody of Indian forces after their arrest during the past 17 years. We want to know about them," said Parveena Ahanger, the head of the Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons, a local campaign group.

Ahanger was leading the rally and carrying the photograph of her 16-year-old missing son, Javid Ahmad Ahanger, who she said was arrested by Indian troops during a raid on her house in 1990 - one year after an insurgency against Indian rule broke out.

Two other large rallies were also reported in the city. The demand for the whereabouts of the missing persons has gained momentum after authorities exhumed the bodies of five missing persons allegedly killed in "fake encounters" by Indian forces.

Srinagar, Tuesday, AFP