There have been grave breaches of human rights by the Indian security forces in Kashmir. The deliberate killing of people in police or military custody is simple murder and is the most serious of all the allegations against the security forces. The ICJ mission has no doubt that such killings have occurred on a significant scale. What is far more difficult is to estimate the numbers, particularly as the security forces often claim that the victim has been killed in crossfire . Torture Numerous incidents of torture committed by government personnel have been documented by a variety of sources.
Torture is virtually a matter of routine use in interrogation.
The forms of torture range from electric shocks to beatings, other forms of violence and sexual abuse. To prevent hospitals from documenting torture evidenced by patients symptoms, since 1990 medical records have been removed from hospitals. These practices occur sporadically. Most of the disappearances do not involve killing but arise because a detainee has been held incommunicado or been moved out of the State without notice. This is compounded by the fact that the applications for habeas corpus are not responded to effectively by the courts.