Jammu and Kashmir made up 35 percent of all arrests under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in India between 2019 and 2023, according to new data presented in the Rajya Sabha.
Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai shared the figures in response to a question from Congress MP Shafi Parambil. Rai said that 3662 people were arrested under the UAPA in Jammu and Kashmir during the four year period.
The data shows a sharp rise in arrests over the years. Jammu and Kashmir recorded 227 arrests in 2019, 346 in 2020, 645 in 2021, 1238 in 2022, and 1206 in 2023.
Rai explained that in 2019, there were 1948 UAPA arrests across India, out of which 227 were from Jammu and Kashmir. In 2020, the country recorded 1321 arrests, and 346 were from the Union Territory. In 2021, out of 1621 arrests nationwide, 645 took place in Jammu and Kashmir. In 2022, India reported 2636 arrests, and the Union Territory accounted for 1238 of them. In 2023, out of 2914 arrests across the country, 1206 were from Jammu and Kashmir.
This means that out of a total of 10440 UAPA arrests in India between 2019 and 2023, Jammu and Kashmir alone accounted for 3662 arrests, which is more than one third.
The data also shows that only 23 people were convicted under the UAPA in Jammu and Kashmir during the same four year period.
