J&K human rights body asks govt to frame rehab policy for pellet victims

SRINAGAR : Jammu and Kashmir Human Rights Commission (SHRC) has asked the state government to frame a policy for the sustenance of pellet victims of the state and has given it three months to come up with its response.

The order has come after a petition by a human rights activist Ahsan Untoo on behalf of a victim Rayees Ahmad Bhat seeking directions for the grant of compensation of ₹10 lakh from the state “on account of visual impairment caused by the pellet guns by the government forces”.

“The report from the director general of police has been received in respect of the victim along with certain other reports. The bench is of the opinion that merely registering a case of pellet injury, issuing summons, hearing the parties have become a routine affair with no bearing on the effective disposal of the cases,” the one-page order issued on Wednesday said.

“In order to be of help to the 2,000 victims, the government needs to frame the solid and secure policy for help to such victims,” the order, issued by SHRC member Abdul Hamid Wani, added.

According to the petition, Bhat, a first-year arts student at the degree college in Baramulla, was hit by pellets in his left eye on September 7, 2016, severely affecting his eyesight.

Bhat also wants the commission to direct the state government to provide him sustainable livelihood besides bringing the archaic law of J&K Persons with Disabilities Act 1998 at par with the 2016 Central Act.

The commission has categorised the victims depending on the severity of the injuries like those affected in both eyes, in one eye, those who have pellet injuries in other body parts or those who have been affected mentally.

Earlier this year, CM Mehbooba Mufti handed over job letters to a handful of such victims. Last year, she had given financial assistance to some of the victims.