40 Civilians Killed In Terror Acts, 1,678 Migrants Returned To J&K Post Article 370 Abrogation: Govt

In a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha, Nityanand Rai said 40 civilians were killed in 2017, 39 each in 2018 and 2019 and 37 in 2020.

Representational Image. (File Photo)

New Delhi: The Centre informed Parliament on Tuesday that 40 people were killed and 72 were injured in terror-related events in Jammu and Kashmir this year. Union Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai also stated that in the last five years, 348 security personnel and 195 civilians were killed in terror-related events in J&K.

In a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha, Nityanand Rai said 40 civilians were killed in 2017, 39 each in 2018 and 2019 and 37 in 2020. He said 80 security personnel were killed in 2017, 91 in 2018, 80 in 2019, 62 in 2020 and 35 in 2021 so far.

Jammu and Kashmir witnessed a spate of killings of innocent civilians last month. At least dozen civilians were killed by militants, reviving the memories of 1990 when Kashmir Pandits were forced to migrate out of the Valley after the eruption of armed insurgency.

Over 1,600 Kashmiri Migrants Returned To J&K Post Article 370 abrogation

According to the government's report to Parliament, 1,678 Kashmiri migrants have returned to Kashmir since the repeal of Article 370 for taking up jobs under the Prime Minister's Development Package announced in 2015.

"As per the information provided by the government of Jammu and Kashmir, after abrogation of Article 370, a total of 1,678 migrants have returned to Kashmir for taking up the jobs under the Prime Minister's Development Package-2015," Nityanand Rai said in a written reply to a question.

Article 370, which gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir, was abrogated by the central government on August 5, 2019.

According to information supplied by the J&K administration, the land of 150 applicants has been restored. Nityanand Rai said the government had taken various measures to restore ancestral properties to migrant Hindus. 

District Magistrates (DMs) of concerned districts in J&K are the legal custodians of the immovable properties of migrants, who take suo motto action on eviction proceedings in cases of encroachment. 

He said the migrants can also request DMs in such cases. The DMs are further empowered to take all steps for the preservation and protection of such properties. The government of Jammu and Kashmir has launched a portal on September 7, 2021 to address the grievances of Kashmiri migrants in this regard, Rai said.

(With inputs from PTI)