Srinagar, Sept 8: Is there an Abu Gharib in Kashmir? At least a video clip, released and circulated widely on internet, suggests so.

 The 3-minute video, which has been uploaded on social networking site Facebook and YouTube, shows how paramilitary CRPF troopers and police in a brazen display of horror made a group of youth march naked in a locality.

 The video clip, available at http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/video/video.php?v=1511380457625&ref=mf, has shocked every viewer, who expressed strong resentment over ‘uniformed hooliganism.’

 The video has shown Kashmiri youth being stripped first and then made to parade naked by a group of policemen and CRPF men.

 The video has been uploaded under the tag “India’s Abu Gharaib exposed in Kashmir.” It has been posted by a group named “Citizens of Kashmir” on Facebook on Tuesday evening and in less than 24 hours, the un-dated video was re-shared by tens of thousands of people.

 The clip is low in resolution and has apparently been shot by a mobile phone camera. Police and CRPF men hurl abuses at youth, at least four in number, as they parade them through a field in the countryside.

 A policeman repeatedly shouts at them and asks them to put up their hands as they try to cover their body by clothes. He asks them to move to a police station.

 The video has also captured the cries of women and children, who must have been watching the show from a distance.

 “(It is) democracy at work in Kashmir,” remarks a Facebook user while reacting to the video.

 “Maximum damage to human psyche occurs when you are stripped naked in front of your mothers and sisters. That is what Indian soldiers have tried to do. But alas they failed,” wrote another user.

 The video has generated thousands of comments.

 Many users have speculated that the video has been shot by some police or CRPF men and shared it with other people on mobile. Few made a guess that it has been shot in north Kashmir’s Sopur.

 According to psychologists, parading youth naked means hurting their self esteem. “And this can prove very dear to the forces. This will further add to the anger on the streets. We have seen people committing suicide over such issues. If such a thing has happened in Kashmir, it is highly condemnable. The government needs to look into the issue seriously and punish the accused cops,” said a professor of psychology, wishing anonymity. 

 “Such display of horror would certainly add to alienation and force the youth to take to streets.”

 A user wrote that he would approach the National Human Rights Commission with the clip.

 Senior police officers refused to comment on the issue. “We don’t know anything about it,” said an officer, insisting not to be named.

Lastupdate on : Wed, 8 Sep 2010 21:30:00 Mecca time
Lastupdate on : Wed, 8 Sep 2010 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Thu, 9 Sep 2010 00:00:00 IST