The detention of juveniles or minors, people under the age of 18, has been part of the ongoing crackdown in the Muslim-majority region of Indian occupied Kashmir, which has seen the arrest of separatist leaders as well as pro-India politicians, including former chief ministers.
An unknown number of detainees, including teenagers, have been moved to jails in other Indian states, hampering visits from their families who cannot afford frequent costly travel.
Abrar Ahmad Ganai was taken into custody in the wake of a decision by the Indian government to strip Kashmir’s special status. He was sent several thousand kilometers away from his home to Bareilly in Uttar Pradesh state.
Ganai was released last week after two months in custody under a controversial law, known as the Public Safety Act (PSA), which authorises the detention of someone for up to two years without trial.
The detention order and the police dossier listed Ganai as 22 years old and recommended a two-year detention period.
The court, however, released Ganai within two months of his arrest after his family challenged the detention on the grounds that Ganai is a minor and only 16 years old.
Ganai’s school certificate shown to the court by his family, and also seen by Al Jazeera, shows that Ganai was born in March 2003.
“He was in a 6×7 cell,” Manzoor Ahmad Ganai, his father, told. “He has lost seven kilogrammes and looks pale. He is very depressed and frightened. His whole body aches and there are scars on his back,” he said.
It has been two months since India launched a crippling security lockdown and internet and phone connections were snapped as part of its crackdown.
Despite Indian government assurance, most businesses have stayed shut as a form of protest against the government. Many owners also say they fear reprisals by militants opposed to Indian rule if they go back to business as usual.
