SRINAGAR: Hundreds of people in India-occupied Kashmir have been detained over the past week by police investigating a spate of targeted killings, officials said on Sunday.

Tensions have heightened after New Delhi revoked held Kashmir’s semi-autonomy in August 2019 and brought it under direct rule.

Seven civilians were shot dead in six days last week, sparking outrage in the occupied valley and across India. Politicians from all sides condemned the killings.

Nearly 500 residents suspected to have links with banned religious and anti-India groups were detained across the occupied territory following the shootings.

“No stone will be left unturned to find the killers,” a police officer said.

New Delhi sent a top intelligence officer to Srinagar on Saturday to head the investigation.

India’s National Investigation Agency summoned 40 schoolteachers in Srinagar for questioning on Sunday, officials said.

According to authorities, 29 civilians — including workers from pro-India political parties — have been shot dead in held Kashmir so far this year. Twenty-two of them were Muslims.

The latest deaths were two teachers from the Sikh and Hindu communities, who were shot at a government-run school in Srinagar on Thursday.

Another man was shot dead by police on Thursday when his car did not stop at a checkpoint.

Their deaths came two days after three civilians were killed in separate street shootings within 90 minutes.

The Resistance Front, a relatively new group, has claimed responsibility for the latest deaths and accused those killed of working for “occupier mercenary forces and occupier stooges”.

The statements, issued only in English, were circulated in numerous WhatsApp groups.

The killings have instilled fear among Hindus and Sikhs, with media reporting that many were fleeing the region.

On Saturday, Human Rights Watch called for the alleged perpetrators as well as Indian security forces accused of harassment, torture and extra-judicial killings to be held accountable for their actions.

“Kashmiris are caught in unending violence from attacks by militants and abuses by government authorities and security forces,” HRW’s South Asia director Meenakshi Ganguly said in a statement.

Published in Dawn, October 11th, 2021