Last night, a video went viral on Whatsapp in Jammu and Kashmir. The video has been shot in the midst of a protest where locals in South Kashmir’s Pulwama were pelting stones at security personnel. The video, shot by an eyewitness, on his phone purportedly shows Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel forcing four protesters to sit in front of a police vehicle to make sure they are not pelted at.

According to a report in Kashmir Walla, locals in Samboora Village of Pulwama were taken as human shields by the forces during an on-going Cordon and Search Operation. Another eyewitness told The Kashmir Walla, “If youth are trying to throw stones at the forces, they beat up the boys who are held in front of the vehicles,” he added.

According to a report in Kashmir Reader, Superintendent of Police Awantipora Mohammad Zahid said they too have seen this video and the police is ascertaining its authenticity and genuineness.

Last year on April 9, Farooq Dar of Budgam district was tied to an Army jeep and paraded “through 10-20 villages” with a piece of paper attached to his chest declaring that he was a stone pelter. Meanwhile, the Joint Resistance Leadership has called for a complete strike tomorrow, June 20, against the continued civilian killings in the Valley. It has stated that “CASO [Cordon and Search Operation] has returned with a vengeance to villages as people are being severely beaten and harassed and used as human shields”.