About 4,000 people arrested in Kashmir since August 5: govt sources to AFP

Thousands of people have been detained in Kashmir over fears of outbreaks of unrest after the BJP government stripped of the special status to the State two weeks ago, government sources told AFP. A magistrate speaking to AFP on condition of anonymity said at least 4,000 people were arrested and held under the Public Safety Act (PSA), a controversial law that allows authorities to imprison someone for up to two years without charge or trial.

“Most of them were flown out of Kashmir because prisons here have run out of capacity,” the magistrate said, adding that he had used a satellite phone allocated to him to collate the figures from colleagues across the state amid a communications blackout imposed by authorities.

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