SRINAGAR, Oct 18: Ten people have disappeared in occupied Kashmir after being arrested by Indian troops this year, a leading rights group said on Thursday, disputing claims by a leader that there have been no such cases.

Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad said on Wednesday there has not been a “single case of custodial disappearance” in 2007.

“I hope 2007 will be the first year since militancy erupted in the state when no case of custodial disappearance will be there,” he remarked.

But the Coalition of Civil Society (CCS) described Mr Azad’s claim as “incorrect and misleading.”

“There have been 10 reported cases of custodial disappearances this year,” CCS head Pervez Imroz told AFP, adding that the cases were fewer than in previous years.—AFP