Ajas Main and Chrewan
Suspected Time of Incident
Local Time and Date: 00:00hrs. From 1990 to 2009
GMT/Zulu Time and Date: 00:00hrs From 1990 to 2009
Case Location
Latitude/Longitude (WGS84):
Ajas Main Graveyard: 34.33169 N, 74.68034 E
Chrewan Gujjar Patti Ajas: 34.33761 N, 74.69510 E
Town/Region/Country:
Ajas, Bandipora, Indian Administered Jammu and Kashmir, Disputed Territory
Summary
Ajas Main Graveyard Overview: Ajas Main, one of the eight villages investigated in Bandipora District as part of the "Buried Evidence: Unknown, Unmarked, and Mass Graves in Indian-Administered Kashmir" report (published December 2009 by the International People's Tribunal on Human Rights and Justice in Indian-Administered Kashmir), is noted for the presence of unmarked graves. The report, based on investigations from November 2006 to November 2009, documents 20 graves in Ajas Main, of which 8 were unnamed at the time of investigation.
What Happened: These graves are likely linked to extrajudicial killings or fake encounters by Indian military and paramilitary forces during the conflict in Kashmir, particularly between 1990 and 2009. The absence of graves with multiple bodies in Ajas Main Graveyard implies smaller-scale incidents compared to other villages like Batmohalla Sumbal, but the presence of unnamed graves points to a lack of identification and transparency, possibly to conceal the identities of the deceased and the circumstances of their deaths.
Chrewan Gujjar Patti Ajas Overview: Chrewan Gujjar Patti Ajas, one of the eight villages investigated in Bandipora District as part of the "Buried Evidence: Unknown, Unmarked, and Mass Graves in Indian-Administered Kashmir" report (published December 2009 by the International People's Tribunal on Human Rights and Justice in Indian-Administered Kashmir), contains a small number of unmarked graves. The report, based on investigations from November 2006 to November 2009, documents 5 graves in Chrewan Gujjar Patti Ajas, all of which were unnamed at the time of investigation.
What Happened: The report does not provide specific details about the incidents leading to the burials in Chrewan Gujjar Patti Ajas. However, the broader context of the report indicates that these graves are likely associated with extrajudicial killings or fake encounters by Indian military and paramilitary forces during the conflict in Kashmir, spanning 1990 to 2009. The fact that all 5 graves are unnamed suggests efforts to conceal the identities of the deceased and the circumstances of their deaths, a common pattern in conflict-related burials in the region.
Individual Incident Locations
One of the bodies was of a disappeared person, Ghulam Nabi Wani, was exhumed from the Ajas Main graveyard. Wani was picked up on March 2, 2006, from Lal Chowk, near Tyndale Biscoe School, in Srinagar, where he was selling goods on the footpath, and killed in a fake encounter. (Personal communication, IPTK (2008-2009)
Potential Incident Location
o 34.07158 N, 74.81142 E
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o A site about 50 metres from Tyndale Biscoe and Mallinson School from where Ghulam Nabi Wani was abducted by Indian Paramilitary forces
Case Location Evidence Below:
Mass Grave location 1
o 34.33169 N, 74.68034 E
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Ajas Main Graveyard consisting 20 graves with 8 unnamed graves.
Mass Grave location 2
o 34.33761 N, 74.69510 E
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O Chrewan Gujjar Patti Graveyard consisting 5 unnamed graves.



Casualties
Total Suspected/Known Number of Casualties:
25 (20 bodies Ajas Main Graveyard, 5 bodies in Chrewan Gaveyard)
Injured: 0
Fatalities in Incident: 25
Fatalities in Grave: 0
Casualty Information:
Age Range: na.
Genders: Males
Ethnicity/ies: Kashmiri Muslims
Victims:
Known: Ghulam Nabi Wani
Unknown: 24
Casualty Evidence Below:
These burials likely resulted from counterinsurgency operations targeting suspected militants or civilians near the Line of Control. Ajas Main’s higher grave count may reflect greater conflict intensity, while Chrewan Gujjar Patti Ajas saw fewer incidents. The motive was to suppress militancy and local resistance, with secrecy enabled by legal impunity under laws like AFSPA. Victims were likely Kashmiri Muslims, predominantly male (100% in Bandipora), killed to erase evidence and avoid accountability.
Suspected or Know Aggressors
Group/Tribe/Militia/Organisation:
Indian military and paramilitary forces operating with impunity under laws like AFSPA.
Suspected/Known Quantity of Participants:
na
Aggressor Evidence Below:
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