Summary 13 lac pellets have been fired by forces enforcing a curfew across the Muslim-majority region.
SRINAGAR (Web Desk / Reuters) – Clashes between innocent Kashmiris and Indian forces have overwhelmed the main hospitals in the region, where some patients with severe injuries said they had been beaten in their homes by troops, reported on Saturday.
More than 8000 injured people have been shifted to the hospitals so far while 13 lac pellets have been fired by forces enforcing a curfew across the Muslim-majority region on 49th day.
Doctors at the hospital were exhausted, with one saying they had performed more eye operations in the past month than they had over the last three years.
"We have here less number of beds and staff. We are in physical and mental stress," said Nisarul Hassan, senior consultant at SMHS hospital who was forced to use an ambulance to get back home.
The Indian army has admitted to, and apologised for, the death of a college lecturer in one beating. A senior army officer said the forces were trying not to react to acts of provocation.
Dozens of volunteers received the injured at SMHS Hospital as ambulances brought them in from rural areas.
Paramedics and ambulance drivers said government forces attacked them on the way. The curfew restricts movement, severely disrupting daily life.
Doctor said patients have been brought in with abdominal injuries from rifle bullets. "Our operating theatres are working non-stop," the doctor told Reuters.
Troops have resorted to firing rifles and shotguns to quell stone-throwing protests sparked by the death of Burhan Wani, a field commander of the Hizbul Mujahideen separatist group.
The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), which deploys a large contingent of paramilitaries in Kashmir, told a regional court that more than 100 people had been partly or completely blinded by shotgun pellets.
