Srinagar, Nov. 3 (TNS): The state-run human rights commission has told puppet government in Indian occupied Kashmir to investigate at least 2,080 unmarked mass graves discovered in border regions of the restive region, Doha based television reported on Friday.
The Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons (APDP), a human rights group in occupied Kashmir, told the commission there were 3,844 unmarked graves – 2,717 in Poonch and 1,127 in Rajouri, twin districts in the region that lie along Line of Control (LoC) that divides the disputed territory between India and Pakistan.
In response, the commission acknowledged the presence of 2,080 unmarked graves and asked the government for a comprehensive investigation to be completed in six months, including DNA tests of the bodies to compare it with family members of the disappeared.
In 2011, the commission directed the government to investigate the mass graves. At the time, a special team from the commission said 2,730 unidentified bodies were buried in 38 sites across northern Kashmir.
“The commission has no hesitation to issue the same directions, which were already issued in the case,” the recent order said.
APDP maintains 8,000 people have disappeared in the decades-old conflict, and accuses government forces of staging gun battles to cover up killings.
