Srinagar: At least 38 people have been
disabled, mostly due to action taken by security forces during
the ongoing unrest in Kashmir Valley, Jammu and Kashmir Health
Minister Sham Lal Sharma said on Thursday.
"As many as 38 patients were disabled by the injuries
inflicted during the protests. Several such patients were hit
in the eye, either by pellets or stones," Sharma said in a
written reply to a question by NC MLC Vijay Bakaya in the
legislative council here.
He said a "huge number of civilians" have been injured
during the protests in the Valley and a considerable number of
them received firearm injuries in the face and chest.
Nearly 700 people, including security personnel, injured
during the clashes were being treated at different hospitals
of the state, he said.
In south Kashmir's Pulwama district, 335 injured were
admitted in various hospitals, while 120 people were being
treated at Budgam hospital.
In Anantang and Kulgam districts, 134 patients were
undergoing treatment.
Kangan reported 55 injured people who have been admitted
at the sub-district hospital there, while 61 patients were
admitted in district hospital Ganderbal.
The causes of injuries, as mentioned in the minister's
statement, include firearm injuries, rubber bullet injuries,
pellet injuries, beating and trauma.
Protests erupted in the Kashmir Valley after a
17-year-old boy Tufail Ahmad Mattoo was killed when a tear gas
shell thrown by police hit him here on June 11.
More than 100 protesters and bystanders have been killed
and many more injured in the four-month-long unrest.
PTI
First Published: Thursday, October 07, 2010, 22:21