Fearing arrest, Srinagar youth tending to pellet injuries themselves instead of hospital

Residents of Indian occupied Kashmir's (IoK) Srinagar have resorted to using forceps for taking out pellets from their wounds as fear grips them of being arrested by the Indian forces in the hospital.

Anchar, a neighbourhood in Srinagar, has become the center of ongoing protests since India revoked the special status of IoK on August 5. Since the abrogation of Article 370 from Indian constitution, around 200 youth have been injured due to pellet firing and teargas shelling by Indian forces, The Wire reported.

"The injured men fear that stepping out for treatment will bring them in the radar of the security forces. The Jammu and Kashmir police have a network of men in the city hospital to keep an eye on every visitor," a local told The Wire.

Mumtaz, a shop owner in Anchar, shared that a group of boys have developed expertise in removing pellets from injured people with forceps and tongs.

Anchar seems to have received most of the brunt as the entire neighbourhood looks ravaged. In order to prevent the forces from coming into the area, the residents have dug up the roads and have barricaded them with tin sheets, steel rods and wooden logs.

However, locals say that the security forces, including Jammu and Kashmir police and paramilitary have tried to breach the barricades on several occasions since August 5.