The Hindu : National : NHRC seeks report on suicides in J&K

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Saturday, May 22, 2004

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NHRC seeks report on suicides in J&K

By Our Legal Correspondent

NEW DELHI, MAY 21. The National Human Rights Commission has taken suo motu cognisance of a newspaper report on May 16 alleging high rate of suicides and attempted suicides in the Kashmir Valley. It has called for a report from the Jammu and Kashmir Chief Secretary with a request to furnish within six weeks, the number of suicides and attempted suicides in the Valley from 1999-2000 to 2003-2004.

The Commission asked the Chief Secretary to give the break-up in terms of age, gender and the rural-urban areas of suicide deaths/attempted suicides. If investigations/inquiries had established a linkage between militancy in the State and the major causes of the suicides, it should be mentioned in the report, the Commission said.

The press report had said that 20,000 people had attempted suicide during the 14 years of turmoil in the Valley. About 3,000 of them had died — most of them in the 16-25 age group.

In Kashmir, suicides were said to have claimed the second highest number of lives after militancy. The suicide toll through the years ran into thousands.

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