Srinagar: A total of 249 custodial and fake encounter deaths have been reported in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir from 2021 to 2025. Year-wise data highlights brutal state actions and human rights violations aimed at suppressing Kashmiris’ demand for Azaadi, a demand acknowledged by the United Nations through its resolutions.
A report by Kashmir24, countering claims made by the Indian BJP government, states that official figures significantly underreport such incidents. The Indian Minister of State for Home Affairs, Nityanand Rai, informed the Lok Sabha on March 24, 2026, that only eight custodial deaths had been reported in Jammu and Kashmir since April 2021. This information was provided in response to an unstarred question raised by MPs Selvaraj V., K. Subbarayan, and Rajkumar Roat.
According to the minister, data from the India’s National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) shows two custodial deaths each year in 2021–22, 2022–23, 2023–24, and 2024–25, with no custodial deaths reported up to March 15, 2025.