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       Civilian Deaths in Custody Fuel Anger and Questions in Kashmir

       After a fatal ambush on Indian soldiers, several people were taken in for questioning. Three were found dead hours later, reportedly with signs of torture.

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       A protest on Saturday in Srinagar, Kashmir, after the deaths of three civilians who were detained by Indian soldiers. Credit...Mukhtar Khan/Associated Press

       By Sameer Yasir

       Reporting from New Delhi

       Dec. 24, 2023

       Kashmiris are calling for an investigation into the deaths of three civilians on Friday who were among several people Indian soldiers had detained for questioning in connection with an attack by separatist militants in the restive region.

       The ambush, on Thursday, of two army vehicles, which left four soldiers dead and three others injured, was the latest in a campaign of violence that militants resisting Indian rule have carried out in remote villages in the Himalayan mountains in Kashmir, an area at the heart of a bitter and longstanding dispute between India and Pakistan.

       Mohammad Iqbal, a local businessman and an uncle of one of the victims, said that soldiers arrived on Friday morning in the village of Topa Peer in the Poonch District, not far from where the attack occurred, and detained at least eight people, he said. His nephew and two others were found dead on a roadside that evening. Their bodies showed signs of torture, he said.

       “They were innocent civilians,” Mr. Iqbal said. “This is a grave injustice.”

       The local police took custody of the bodies and contacted the families. Several other people detained on Friday were released and have been hospitalized, according to local officials. A video that purported to show the torture of the detained civilians spread online, fueling widespread anger.

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       To prevent protest in the districts of Poonch and Rajouri, where the ambush took place, the authorities shut down internet service in the area and deployed more forces on roads leading to villages.

       No one has been charged in connection with the attack on the military vehicle, which Indian news media reported a little-known militant group had claimed responsibility for. The army said in a statement that its search operation was continuing.

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       Sameer Yasir is a reporter based in New Delhi. He joined The Times in 2020. More about Sameer Yasir

       A version of this article appears in print on Dec. 25, 2023, Section A, Page 5 of the New York edition with the headline: Civilian Deaths in Custody Fuel Questions in Kashmir . Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe

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