More than 2,000 corpses have been found buried in several unmarked graves in Indian held Kashmir, believed to be victims of freedom movement, a government human rights commission said in a report. The graves were found in dozens of villages near the Line of Control, the military line dividing Kashmir between India and Pakistan.
"At 38 places visited in held north Kashmir, there were 2,156 unidentified dead bodies buried in unmarked graves," the inquiry report by the Indian held government's Jammu and Kashmir State Human Rights Commission (J&KSHRC) said.
The report, released on Saturday, comes after a three-year inquiry by an 11-member team led by a senior police official.
Nearly 50,000 people have been killed in mainly held Kashmir since a revolt against New Delhi's rule began in 1989. On Saturday, Indian occupied soldier shot dead 12 alleged militants trying to cross from Pakistan into the disputed region.
Indian occupied forces in held Kashmir have been accused of murdering innocent civilians in staged gun battles and passing them off as alleged militants to earn rewards and promotions.
Indian authorities have consistently denied systematic human rights violations in held Kashmir and say they probe all such reports and punish the guilty.
The Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons (APDP), which estimates around 10,000 people went missing during nearly two decades of revolt, says many missing people may have ended up in these unmarked graves.