Indian police say 41,000 killed in Kashmir conflict

Indian security forces say more than 41,000 people have been killed in the 17-year-old insurgency that has consumed its portion of Kashmir.

However, the Jammu-Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society estimates nearly 70,000 people have been killed in the violence.

The group has been conducting a two-way survey to ascertain the death toll.

“One is compilation of deaths through newspaper reports and the other is our door-to-door survey in every district in Kashmir,” said Khurram Pervez, head of the group.

Pervez said their survey of news reports alone showed that about 50,000 people had died since 1989.

“We don’t subscribe to this figure as newspaper reports are mostly based on police handouts. Neither do we accept the government figure of 41,000.”