40,000 lives lost in J&K since 1990

JAMMU More than 40,000 lives have been lost in Jammu and Kashmir due to terror-related activities in Jammu and Kashmir since 1990.

This has been revealed by the Union home ministry in response to an RTI query filed by Jammubased activist Raman Sharma.

The reply reveals that deaths in militant attacks dropped over the past decade in Jammu and Kashmir but steeply mounted in the past four years.The reply by the ministry also said that 2016 was the worst year in recent times with 247 deaths, including 15 civilians, 82 security men and 150 militants.

The data was recorded between 1990, when insurgency first broke out in the Valley, and March 31, 2017. In this period, 40,961 people died -- 13,941 civilians, 5,055 soldiers and 21,965 militants. The RTI response said that the number of deaths decreased between 2006 and 2012 but shot up from 2013 onwards.

Till March 31 this year, 52 lives have been lost, including five civilians, 12 security personnel and 35 militants.

The year 2001 was the most-violent year, where 3,552 lives were lost -- 996 civilians, 536 security personnel and 2,020 militants.

The highest number of civilian deaths – 1,341 -- were reported in 1996, followed by 1995, when 1,031 civilians died.

During the last 28 years, 13,502 soldiers and paramilitary personnel have also been injured while fighting terrorists.