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ISLAMABAD: Red Cross officials are teaching Indian troops in Held Kashmir following the accusation that at least seventeen people have been died in custody this year.

According to Voice of Germany, around thirty soldiers and officers of the Border Security force were lectured by members of the International Committee of the Red Cross, near Srinagar.

The State government said that 118 police and para-military troops had been convicted of human rights violations since 1989.

Relief Cheques Bounced

Another report from Srinagar reveals that the relief cheques issued to the next of kins of those massacred by Indian troops in Bandipora on February 7 have bounced back for the third time in succession during the last three weeks.

The Indian-installed puppet Kashmir government had announced rupees one lakh (Rs 0.1 million) each as relief for the families of six civilians who were used as human shields by Indian troops during an encounter on February 7 last at Chitthibanday in Bandipora resulting in their death.

The relatives of the deceased had gone to Jammu and Kashmir bank Bandipora with the cheques but had to return disappointed as the bank refused to honour them. The cheques of rupees one lakh each were handed over to them by the Tehsildar Bandipora in the presence of Deputy Commissioner after the February 7 massacre.

The bank manager according to the relatives had told them that the said J&K branch, Bandipora had no money to pay to the victims, "We don't have any money, go to the tehsildar office and get the money from him", the bank manager had reportedly told the relatives. "In the first place, we never asked for the money, they forced us these cheques and said that government was always there to help the locals", says Mohammad Yousuf Mir father of Mohammad Aslam, one of the five civilians killed in the Chitthibanday incident. Yousuf Mir adds, that government had played a cruel joke on the hapless family members and they will never forgive the government for that.

"We are not after money, they have issued one lakh default cheques, we will give them hard cash of 10 lakhs if they can make our sons alive or punish the guilty" says Siraj ud Din adding, "explain us is this the way how democracy functions for the people who have been at the receiving end of cruelty" The villagers say at the time of the incident, leaders both from the ruling party and opposition had promised their help in mitigating the suffering of the villagers, "they promised that the Indian army camp would be shifted from here, but nothing has been done so far" says Abdul Rashid, the village Imam. The Imam adds that if the villagers were given another plot of land, they would soon migrate to that plot to escape the hostile conditions prevalent in the area.